Christmas with the Pillsburys
by iluvwillschuester
Summary: Set before Special Education. When Emma has to spend Christmas with her family in Virginia, Carl can't come along because of work. So when Emma's mom suggests she bring along Will, Emma agrees. Will's psyched to spend a week with Emma and her family. He still has strong feelings for her and during the trip, some of her old feelings may be ignited. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1- The Offer

Chapter 1- The Offer

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Okay, here it is my new Wemma story! I hope you guys like it and this takes place any time after Rocky Horror but before Special Education. It's also going to be a Christmas story if you didn't pick up on that ;). Here's the first chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

"So, honey can Carl come with you next week? I would love to meet him," Mrs. Pillsbury asked her daughter over the phone.

"Actually, he has to go on a business trip," Emma sighed, disappointed. She wasn't mad at Carl, it wasn't his fault but who had a business trip on Christmas break?

"On Christmas break? Wow, well at least that man's good at his job," Rose said. For a fleeting moment, Emma pictured Will working with the glee kids but quickly shook the image from her mind.

"Yeah, I know, but I have to go alone now," Emma replied, dusting the den as she talked on the phone.

"No, you don't. You can just invite someone else, dear," Mrs. Pillsbury suggested. "We have plenty of room in the house and we all love guests."

"Who would I take with me? I don't know anybody who would want to spend their Christmas with me in Virginia," Emma said, oblivious to the obvious answer.

"What about Will?" Emma's mom offered, calmly.

"I-I um, things have been awkward between us. Because, you know, Carl and um, Carl," Emma stammered.

"Emma, this would be the perfect opportunity to patch things up. I still have never met him and he seems like such a nice man. You talk about him all the time and sometimes I wonder if you still wish you were with him. According to you, he still has really obvious feelings for you. So, there's no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't want to come with you," Rose Pillsbury explained.

"Okay, I guess I'll ask him. I'm sure Will would love to come but I just don't want to hurt him anymore. So, maybe you could ask James and everyone else to not mention Carl?" Emma asked, hopefully.

"Of course. I have to go but I'll see you and Will in a few days," her mom said, hanging up.

The next day was Friday and the last day of school before break. It was lunch and Emma was gathering up courage to go and talk to Will. They hadn't spoken since the Rocky Horror incident, and they both missed each other. Every time that Emma would see Will in the hall or through a window since then, his hazel eyes were soft and longing, fixated on her brown ones. _Come on, Emma. You can do this; you know he's going to say yes. I just don't know what to say to him, even though I should. It was never this bad before, Will's my best friend, Carl or no. Come on, just picture his eyes lighting up when you deliver the news, _Emma thought, knocking on Will's classroom door.

"Hey, Em!" Will exclaimed, smiling. He stood up and practically ran to her, on his way he ran into a student's desk. Emma giggled and Will looked at her bashfully.

"Hi Will, so I haven't seen you in a while," Emma greeted, sitting down as Will took a seat next to her. _I don't know why we don't talk like we used to…oh yeah, that thing called Carl, _Emma thought, sadly.

"Yeah, I guess," Will said, sadly. _Well, I've seen you but I guess you didn't notice me. Probably because you were so caught up with that dentist, _Will thought to himself. It was killing Emma to see Will so sad and uncomfortable with her. She was half-tempted to yell out 'I miss you more than anything,' but she kept her mouth shut.

"We don't talk like we used to and I really miss that," Emma said, instead offering a smile.

"Yeah, me too, so friends again?" Will offered, wearing that cute lopsided smile again.

"Best friends," Emma agreed, laughing. "I'm actually here because I want to talk to you about something." Will immediately looked at Emma's ring finger to see if she had got married to Carl. When Emma caught him staring, Will looked down at the ground like a little kid awaiting his punishment. "A good something, not anything bad," Emma added.

Will smiled, "So, what is it?" he asked curiously. Emma gazed at him lovingly, she loved when he smiled.

"For Christmas break I'm going to my parents' house in Virginia. My whole family is going to be there; mom, dad, James, his wife, and their kids. I was going to bring Carl but he has a business trip to go to," Emma started. She noticed the corner of Will's mouth dip slightly at the mention of Carl. Emma just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to get better, even if it wasn't. "So, my mom said that I could bring someone else. Would you like to go with me?"

Will looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Yeah!" he practically shouted. "I mean, yeah sure," Will said, quietly, blushing a little bit.

"Great," Emma replied, smiling. _This is awesome, it's going to be a great way to catch up, _Emma thought. "We were going to leave on Sunday, the twenty-first and then stay until the twenty-eighth or longer, if you want to. Is that okay?"

_Is that okay? That's more than okay! This is like all the holidays wrapped into one…a whole week with Em and no Carl. Gosh, I'm so excited! _Will thought, beaming. "That's more than okay," Will replied, cheerfully.

"Okay, well I was thinking that I could pick you up early Sunday morning. Like maybe seven?" Emma suggested. _I haven't seen Will this happy in a long time…it's nice, _Emma thought, smiling.

"Sure, any time's fine," Will replied, almost wanting to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

"It's going to be about a five or six hour drive," Emma told him. "You should pack enough stuff for at least a week, and try not to forget anything," Emma said, smiling.

"Okay, this is awesome, Em. I've really missed you," Will admitted, not able to wipe the dopey grin off his face.

"I've missed you, too," Emma confessed. _More than you'll ever know, _she thought silently. The bell rang, ending the teacher's reunion. "Well, I have to go. Rachel's probably already at my office," Emma laughed.

"Okay, bye. See you Sunday," Will said, still smiling like a goofball in a lovesick daze.

"Alright. Don't sleep in, mister," Emma joked, before walking out the door. Will stood in the doorway watching Emma walk down the hallway. _God, she's beautiful, _he thought, oblivious to the fact that students were crowding around the door.

"Mr. Schue…are you okay?" Finn asked, waving a hand in front of the teacher's face. Puck snickered, following Will's glance back to the guidance counselor.

"I'm better than okay, actually, I'm great," Will admitted, stepping out of the way of his students. Most students looked puzzled at their teacher's strange behavior but a few had seen him glancing at Ms. Pillsbury and were laughing. Sunday couldn't come fast enough for Will.

_**So what did you think? Did you like it? Good story so far, or not? Lol, I was going to post this tomorrow, December 1**__**st**__** but I couldn't wait. I hope you guys liked it and I'm going to try to update soon. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Emma's parents and family are not like the ones in Asian F in this story. They're going to be how I want them to be; kind, loving, and supportive. The next chapter will be the road trip, ;). Please review as this is the first chapter and I want to know if it's worth continuing ;). **_


	2. Chapter 2- Road Trip

Chapter 2- Road Trip

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Oh my gosh! I had so many reviews last chapter; I've never had that many for any story ever! Thanks so much, I love all of you, you're so nice! You guys have inspired me to update really fast. This is the road trip to Virginia, hope you like it! ;)**_

Emma Pillsbury knocked on Will's apartment door. It was exactly seven in the morning, she was right on time. Will opened the door, carrying a Nike duffel bag and smiling. "Hey Emma," Will greeted, excitedly.

"Good morning, Will," Emma said, looking at Will. He looked a little sleepy and was wearing a black North Face coat, dark blue jeans, and a tight fitting red snow hat. "Ready to go?"

"Yup, I've got everything," Will replied, closing the door behind him. "How was your night?" Will asked, as they walked down the stairs.

"It was good, and yours?" Emma said, cheerfully. Honestly, her night wasn't the greatest. Emma had told Carl that she was bringing Will to Virginia and he wasn't too happy. Eventually, Carl gave in and just told her to be careful and that he didn't trust Will.

"Great," Will laughed. Will had barely slept the entire night; he was excited and nervous for the trip ahead. They reached Emma's Honda and Emma unlocked the trunk for the two of them.

"You can just put your bag in here and your coat if you want to," Emma offered. Will carefully placed his duffel bag so that it wasn't crushing any of Emma's belongings; Emma smiled, she always took note of the little things he did for her. Will unzipped his coat, shrugged it off and put it on top of his bag, along with his winter hat. "Come on," Emma said, walking to the front of the car. Will rushed ahead of her and opened the driver's seat door for her.

"Ladies first," Will smiled, motioning her into the car. Emma laughed and slipped into her seat. Will walked around the front of the car and using his hands, dusted the thin layer of gathering snow off the front window. Will leaned over and smiled at Emma through the window before opening his door and plopping down in his seat. Will buckled in and began wiping his hands on his jeans, trying to shake off the cold from the snow.

"Are your hands cold?" Emma asked. Will nodded and Emma knew she was about to cross the invisible line of distance, that she had created between them. Emma reached over and took his hands in hers. She raised them up to her face and blew on them, instantly creating warmth. Will felt fireworks shoot through his hands all the way to the tip of his nose. It was like an instant connection, sparks shot through both of their bodies like pinballs. "Better?" Emma asked, releasing her hands from his slowly.

"A lot better," Will said, a spark of emotion running through his hazel eyes. Will and Emma pulled away from each other and Emma started the car, pulling out of the parking lot. _Oh God, what did I just do? _Emma thought to herself, smiling at Will. "So, are you excited to see your family?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I haven't seen them for almost a year. It's going to be my mom, my dad, James and his family," Emma explained, watching Will out of the corner of her eye.

"James is married, right?" Will questioned, looking out the window at the snow flurries.

"Yeah, to Claire, they have two little kids. Xavier, who's six and Julie, who's four," Emma replied, glad that someone was interested in her family. Carl usually zoned out during these conversations.

"Cool, I can't wait to meet them," Will said, smiling at Emma.

"Want to put on Christmas music? I think the station's 100.3," Emma suggested.

"Sure." Will leaned over and turned on the radio. _Crap! Am I boring her? _Will thought, quickly worrying. The car ride was going to be six hours; they would have to have something to talk about.

'All I Want For Christmas' was playing and Emma began humming along. "You have a pretty singing voice," Will admitted, smiling dopily at her.

"Will, I'm not even singing," Emma laughed, blushing.

"Still…I can tell," Will said.

Emma smiled. "You have a nice singing voice too."

"Well, that's what I've been told," Will joked. The two hummed along to Christmas songs and talked about glee club for a little bit, before falling into a comfortable silence. It wasn't an awkward silence where there was a need for words to fill the void but a nice silence, where words weren't needed to know how the other person felt. After a few more minutes of silence, Emma glanced at the clock; it was 8:30 already. The guidance counselor looked at Will and giggled. He was asleep, she knew he was bound to fall asleep sometime during the trip; it was just such a Will thing to do. _He looks cute, _Emma thought. They were at a traffic light and Emma watched Will's chest rise and fall slowly and the way his eyes were closed gently, the long light brown eyelashes looking so peaceful and right. _Ugh, what am I thinking? I'm with Carl…Carl's nice. Will's just my friend and nothing more, no matter how cute he looks, _Emma thought to herself. Will's head was leaning against the window and Emma decided not to wake him up.

Will shifted in his sleep and his hazel eyes fluttered open. "Hey sleepyhead," Emma laughed.

Will rubbed his eyes and sat up. "I fell asleep?"

"Yeah, for three hours," Emma replied, smiling at him.

"Oh, I'm really sorry," Will said. _Ugh, I missed out on spending three hours with Emma, _Will thought, sadly.

"Don't worry, it's fine. I didn't want to wake you up, you looked so peaceful," Emma admitted. "We're almost there, just a little bit more than an hour left."

"I'm excited to meet your family," Will said, smiling.

"Yeah, they're nice but they're going to grill you," Emma laughed. She noticed Will's nervous look. "No, it's going to be fine, they'll love you. I just meant that they're going to ask you lots of questions," Emma assured him.

"Oh, okay," Will said, the slightest bit of uncertainty wavering in his voice.

"Do you want any snacks? We'll eat lunch when we get there but I brought snacks just in case," Emma offered.

"Sure," Will said. "Where are they?"

"Under the cup holders," Emma replied, glancing at Will. Will reached over and pulled out a package of chocolate chip cookies. Emma noticed his face light up and smiled.

"Do you even like chocolate chip cookies?" Will asked, opening the package.

"Yeah," Emma said, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Okay…" Will took a bite of his cookie and smiled. "Thanks, Em."

"You're welcome. It was the least I could do, I mean with you coming last minute and all," Emma started.

"I would've come if you had called today at six in the morning today and invited me," Will admitted.

Emma blushed, "You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do," Will said. "I would do anything just to spend more time with you," Will confessed. Emma looked at him out of the corner of her eye and could tell that he was being a hundred percent sincere.

For the rest of the hour, they had fallen back into their playful banter. It was almost like when Will was with Terri; the comfortable conversations with subtle flirting. Only this time it was Emma with Carl, instead. The roles had been reversed. "Only two more blocks," Emma announced, grinning. She too was excited to see her family.

"They live in this neighborhood? The houses are really nice," Will said, looking out the window. Emma rounded the corner and pulled into a driveway.

"This is the one," Emma exclaimed, grinning at Will.

_**So what did you think? Did you like it? Is this story good so far or bad? I got an overwhelming amount of reviews last chapter…more than I've ever gotten. So, I know you guys are out there. Please everyone who reviewed last chapter, review again. Now that I know how many reviews I can get, I don't want any less. So, please review everyone! I love hearing from you guys! ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3- Meet the Parents

Chapter 3- Meet the Parents

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Okay, I was a little disappointed in the lack of reviews last chapter…it went from eleven to six. I know you guys are reading this, so please review! It helps me update faster because my writing schedule is very hectic, as I am trying to have this done by Christmas time. This chapter is from where we left off. Enjoy! ;)**_

Will looked at the house; it was an old tutor-type house. It was really big and looked nice. "Nice house," Will commented, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Thanks," Emma smiled. The two got out of the car and headed to the trunk. Emma flipped it open and grabbed her suitcase. Will grabbed his duffel bag and coat, closing the door.

"I've got it," Will said, taking her suitcase from her. Emma just smiled and walked up the stone footpath to the front door. It was still snowing and Will was shivering in his blue, white, and gray striped American Eagle long sleeve shirt. Emma rang the doorbell and glanced at Will, who was juggling all the luggage. They heard footsteps approaching the door and Rose Pillsbury, Emma's mom, opened the door.

"Emma, Will, come in," she greeted, beaming. Will and Emma walked in; Rusty Pillsbury, James, Claire, and their two kids were all standing by the doorway. Emma wrapped her mom in a hug, surprising the older woman. "You're..."

"I'm getting better," Emma explained, turning to hug her dad. Emma then hugged James and Claire, Julie tugging on Emma's coat.

"Your boyfriend's handsome," Julie announced, smiling shyly at Will. Will blushed and Emma smiled, squeezing Will's shoulder.

"This is Will…he's just a friend," Emma explained, smiling.

"Hi, it's nice to meet all of you," Will said, nervously. Rose smiled at him.

"We've heard a lot about you," Rose started. Will glanced at Emma, whose cheeks were now a scarlet red. "I'm so happy you were able to come over," she said, giving Will a hug. Will smiled and hugged her back.

"I'm Rose, this is Rusty, James, Claire, Xavier, and Julie," Rose said, motioning to all of the family.

"Hi Mr. Pillsbury," Will greeted, reaching his hand out. Rusty shook his hand smiling and Emma had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Will's politeness.

"Please, call me Rusty," Rusty assured Will.

"James, Claire, would you two show them the rooms?" Rose suggested. "I've got to finish preparing the lunches."

James nodded. "The bedrooms are upstairs, Will." James led the way, Will following close behind, Claire and Emma behind everyone.

"Emma, he's so cute!" Claire exclaimed, whisper-yelling. Emma glanced up the stairs; James was already showing Will his room.

Emma blushed. "I guess," she lied. Emma knew that he was good-looking and it killed her.

"You guess? That man's adorable…what does your boyfriend look like?" Claire asked, smiling. _Well, Carl's not as handsome as Will, _Emma thought, mentally cursing herself.

"Claire! You're not supposed to bring up Carl, seriously. Will's sensitive about that," Emma explained, already lost in a world where Will was her boyfriend. She tried to hate when she thought about Will, but she knew she loved it.

"Aww, a sweet and sensitive cutie…heck, I think I'm in love," Claire laughed. Emma rolled her eyes laughing; she and Claire were really close.

"Shh!" Emma warned, as they approached the boys. Will and James were already talking to each other like old friends.

"Hey Emma," James said. "Will and I were just talking about the Bengals playoff chances."

"Oh," Emma replied. She smiled at Will and Will smiled back, as if it was only the two of them in the room. Claire laughed, breaking the silence; James gave her a warning look.

"I'm sorry, I'm Claire," Claire explained, beaming at Will.

"Nice to meet you," Will replied.

"Well, we'll leave the two of you alone," James said, taking Claire's hand and dragging her out of the room.

"Your family's really nice," Will said, honestly.

"Yeah, well, sorry about Julie's comment. She's only four so…" Emma started.

"It's fine. I don't mind being mistaken as your boyfriend," Will laughed. Emma smiled even though she knew it was hurting him.

"My room's just next door to yours," Emma mentioned. "It's the same one I had when I was a little girl."

"Can I see it?" Will asked, innocently.

"Yeah, come on," Emma replied, walking out of his room and into hers. The walls were light yellow and there was a twin-sized bed with light pink and light green sheets on it. There were shelves of children's books, pictures of a younger Emma and James, and a few stuffed animals. Will took a look at some of the pictures.

"You look really cute," Will commented, glancing at a smaller Emma.

"Thanks," Emma replied, watching Will.

Xavier rushed into the room, holding a Spiderman action figure. "It's lunch time," he announced. The young boy stared at Will, almost deciding what to think of him.

"You like Spiderman?" Will asked, motioning to the toy.

"Yeah, he's my favorite," Xavier admitted, his dark blue eyes fixated on Will now.

"No way! He's my favorite too," Will exclaimed, following him out the door. Emma glanced at Will, Will just winked.

"Really? What do you like best about him?" Xavier asked. Emma smiled, marveling at how well Will was with little kids. She thought he would be good with little ones but she didn't know he was this good. Xavier and Will continued talking all the way to the kitchen. "Mom! Will likes Spiderman too!" Xavier exclaimed, as the all the parents looked up.

"Is that so?" Claire said, smiling at Will. Will grinned as the adults gave him approving looks.

"Yeah," Will nodded, taking a seat beside Emma.

"Isn't he awesome?" Xavier whispered to Julie, loudly.

"I like him," Julie whispered back and Will smiled.

"So, I hear that you coach glee club," Rusty said, once everyone was served.

"He does. He's really good and the kids love him. Will has such amazing talent," Emma gushed, smiling at Will. Will's cheeks tinted pink and he smiled back at her.

"I thought he asked Will," James said, rolling his eyes. Claire kicked her husband under the table.

"Um, yeah I do," Will answered, still high off Emma's compliment.

"That's great, honey. I take it you sing?" Rose asked, smiling at Will.

"Yeah, a little," Will said, humbly.

"He means a lot, and he plays instruments," Emma rambled, beaming at Will.

Claire grinned. "What ones?" she asked.

"Guitar, ukulele, piano, and drums," Will explained. Claire nodded approvingly and kicked Emma under the table, Emma blushed.

Rose smiled, knowing exactly what was going on. "So, we're going to set up the Christmas decorations tomorrow. We wanted to wait until everyone was here to do it. Would you like to join us, Will?"

"Of course," Will said, smiling at Emma.

Lunch ran smoothly, everyone was getting along. Most importantly, Emma's family adored Will. They had been watching Christmas movies and just relaxing for the rest of the afternoon. They had a pizza dinner and now the three women were doing the dishes. Will had offered to help but Mrs. Pillsbury said that it was fine and he could go watch TV with the guys.

"I like him," Claire announced, drying a dish.

"Who?" Emma asked, cluelessly.

"Will!" Rose exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, um, he's a really good friend," Emma replied, knowing what they were going to say.

"Emma, he's really nice and funny," Rose pressed.

"And handsome!" Claire added, while Emma rolled her eyes.

"I know but I have Carl," Emma sighed.

"Honey, I've never seen anybody care for you as much as this young man…and I've only known him for half a day," Rose admitted.

"It's so obvious he loves you. You can tell he tries to hide it, but he can't. You and Will would make a really good couple," Claire explained.

"Carl," Emma muttered, scrubbing the plate harder. At this, Claire and Rose took the hint and stopped pushing.

Emma was lying in her bed attempting to sleep; everyone had gone to bed early; tired from the road trips. She had changed into simple pajamas; purple flannel pants and a pink long sleeve shirt. Emma heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, wondering who it was and secretly hoping it would be Will.

"Hey Em, do you have an extra toothbrush? I forgot mine," Will admitted, sheepishly. Emma smiled, he was wearing a red long sleeve shirt and blue flannel pajama pants.

"Yeah," Emma replied. She had actually brought an extra of everything, knowing Will was bound to forget something. It was just something that she sensed; as if knowing Will was her sixth sense. Emma got up and rummaged through her bathroom bag, producing a blue toothbrush.

"Thanks, sorry for waking you," Will said, taking the toothbrush from her. Emma glanced at him, he looked even younger in his pajamas and with his hair tousled up.

Emma laughed. "It's fine, I couldn't even sleep."

"Oh, okay. Thank you so much for letting me come here with you. I really like your family, all of them. They've been so nice and so have you," Will said, lopsided grin and all.

"There's no need to thank me. There's no one else I'd rather have here with me than you," Emma admitted. _Even Carl? _Will thought, smiling. The look in Emma's eyes seemed to confirm his question; she really did care about him. "Good night, Will."

"Good night, Em," Will whispered, leaving the room.

_**So what did you think? Was it good, was it bad? Did you like the new characters? I'm going to try to post the next chapter on Thursday; I'm trying to do every two days. So, this is taking up a lot of my time, so please review! I want to know if I should continue this story or drop it because like I said…it's a lot of work plus my other stories. If I get as many reviews as the first chapter though, I won't stop. So please review, if you want me to continue! ;)**_


	4. Chapter 4- Fairytales

Chapter 4- Fairytales

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! I got a ton of reviews last chapter! Twelve! Thanks so much everyone, you guys make my day with your kind words! Now, I know for sure people are reading this, so keep it up, no excuses! I was going to update yesterday but my social studies teacher had other ideas :P. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Will Schuester sat up and rubbed his eyes free of morning grogginess. He leaned over and looked at the clock; it was 8:30 in the morning. Will could hear pots and pans in the kitchen and knew that some people were already awake; the pitter-patter of small feet in the hall confirmed his thoughts. Will climbed out from under the covers and began making his bed. Someone knocked on his door, which was halfway open. "You can come in," Will said, putting back the last sheet. Emma emerged through the door, still in her pajamas. "Hey," Will greeted. _She even looks beautiful in the morning, _Will thought.

"Good morning, how'd you sleep?" Emma asked, watching Will put the finishing touches on his bed.

"Great and you?" Will replied, it had been a great night for him. After all, the last voice he heard before he went to bed was Emma's, and that had to count for something.

"Good, you know you didn't have to make the bed, right?" Emma mentioned, smiling.

"I wanted to," Will admitted, walking towards her.

"Want to go get breakfast? I think it's eggs and bacon," Emma offered, Will nodded and they started out the door. Emma weirdly fought the urge to take his hand, it felt like that's what she should and wanted to do. _No Emma, you're with Carl…even if Will wouldn't mind holding your hand, you can't. Heck, Will would love if I held his hand, _Emma thought, glancing down at their hands and imagining their fingers intertwined. As they approached the kitchen, Rose smiled sweetly at the two of them.

"Good morning, you two," she greeted, setting out two plates with eggs, bacon, and toast on them.

"Good morning, Mrs. Pillsbury," Will said, standing beside her and Emma.

"Oh Will, just call me Rose. Is this good for you guys?" Rose replied, motioning to the plates.

"It's great." Will pulled out Emma's chair for her and Emma slid into it. This act of kindness didn't go unnoticed by Emma's mom, who smiled approvingly. Will sat in his own chair and the two of them began eating.

"James and Claire are going out for the day but they should be back for dinner. They wanted to go shopping, if you guys ever want to go out for a day then feel free," Rose explained.

"Okay, Xavier and Julie are still here right?" Emma questioned, drinking her orange juice.

"Yup, they wouldn't miss decorating the house for the world," Rose laughed. Will smiled; he was almost as excited as the kids to decorate with Emma. "I'll let you two talk, I'm going to go check on the kids."

"So, do you like decorating?" Will asked, grinning.

"Yeah, the tree's my favorite part," Emma smiled.

"Mine too," Will remarked.

"Well, we should go get dressed if we want to start setting up," Emma suggested, standing up.

"Okay," Will agreed, taking both their plates to the sink.

Will was waiting for Emma to come downstairs; he was playing Go Fish with Xavier and Julie. He was letting Julie be on his team because she was too young to fully understand the game. "What do you want for Christmas, Will?" Julie asked, crawling on his lap.

Will hoisted her up and smiled at her. _Emma, _he thought, but he obviously couldn't say that to a four-year-old. "I don't know if I want like a material thing but I," Will paused, planning how to say this. "I want something to happen."

"What?" Julie asked, curiously.

"It's complicated," Will said, handing a card to Xavier.

"Do you like Emma?" Xavier asked, pushing his wavy blond hair out of his piercing blue eyes.

"Well, yeah of course. She's my best friend," Will replied, knowing that's not what the boy meant.

"I mean like-like her," Xavier said, staring at Will. When Will pretended to be busy shuffling his cards, Xavier spoke up again. "It's okay if you do. I just asked because I heard my mommy talking about it last night. She said you two would be a fairytale couple. But don't worry, she's weird."

Will smiled. _Fairytale couple? Hey, someone believes there's still hope for us besides me, _he thought. "Can you keep a secret?" Will asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Xavier nodded, eagerly. "But she can't," he said, pointing to Julie.

"It's okay, I trust you two." Will leaned forward, grinning. "I like-like Emma," he laughed.

"Good, I think you would make a good uncle," Xavier admitted. Will smiled; he really liked spending time with Emma's family. Emma walked in the room and Will looked up, stunned. Emma was a lot more dressed-down than usual. She was wearing a woman's plaid blue and white flannel shirt and dark blue skinny jeans.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked, noticing Will staring.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You just look…different," Will admitted.

"Oh, um, I can go change," Emma stammered, turning around.

"No, you look beautiful," Will confessed, smiling up at her. Emma blushed, smiling at him.

"And you look handsome," Emma laughed. Will smiled, she knew she was probably just saying that but every little compliment she gave him made him feel special; like there was still hope for the two of them. Will was wearing a dark gray raglan long sleeve shirt with blue sleeves and jeans.

Will hummed along to 'It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas' as he placed another ornament on the tree. They had been decorating for a few hours now and were almost done; they were just working on the tree.

"Oh, this is my favorite!" Emma exclaimed, holding up another ornament. It was a prince and a princess one.

Will smiled, standing next to Emma. "Why?"

"Because they're a fairytale couple, they're meant to be. True love's a beautiful thing," Emma explained, hanging it high on the tree. _I know, I'd like to think what we have is beautiful too. Well, at least what we used to have, _Will thought, smiling sadly.

"I know," Will whispered, his eyes speaking the words that didn't escape his mouth. "I have to go the bathroom," Will announced, leaving quickly.

Julie tugged on the bottom of Emma's shirt. "You and Will are a fairytale couple."

Emma smiled. _I know…oh crap, why am I even thinking that? Carl! _Emma thought. "Honey, Will and I are just friends," Emma explained. She told the truth, just left out the fact that Will was madly in love with her and that she might, just might feel the same way.

"No." Emma crouched down to be eye-to-eye with the little girl, and try to explain again. "Will like-likes you. He told us, but don't tell him that I told you. It was supposed to be a secret," Julie whispered.

_Will actually admitted to the kids that he has a crush on me! Oh my God…that's really…cute. But I can't tell him I love him back, I think I love Carl, _Emma thought, high off Will's crush. Xavier groaned. "You weren't supposed to tell her that, Julie!" he said, frustrated. "Now, Will's going to be mad at us."

"No, no, Will doesn't get mad," Emma assured Xavier. "He loves you guys already and…I already knew about, uh, his crush."

Will walked in the room, smiling. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" Julie yelled, while Xavier rolled his eyes at his sister's obviousness. Emma smiled sweetly at Will.

"It's time to put the star on, I'll go get my mom," she said, getting up. Emma walked up to Will and quickly pressed her lips to his cheek, before walking out the door. Will stood there, stunned and smiling dopily. He pressed his fingers to his cheek feeling where she just kissed him; wanting to hold on to the sparks she left there.

Xavier smiled. "I'm rooting for you," he said.

Emma and Rose walked in, Rusty was out grocery shopping and James and Claire were still away. Emma placed a hand on Will's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I think you're going to have to help out," she remarked, smiling. She knew how much the peck on the cheek would mean to him, and was glad she did it.

"It's Xavier's turn this year, Julie did it last year," Rose explained, as Xavier pumped his fist in the air.

"Yes!" he said, Julie sighed.

"Will, dear, would you mind lifting him up? We don't have a ladder and that's how we usually do it," Rose said.

"No problem," Will smiled. Xavier took the star from Emma and Will walked over to him. "On three, okay?" Xavier nodded, understanding. "1, 2, 3!" Will lifted Xavier up and Xavier fixed the star on the top. Will swiftly brought the boy to the ground again and everyone clapped.

"It looks great," Emma mentioned, smiling at the tree.

"Yeah, it really does," Will replied, resisting the urge to put his arm around her. After her kiss, he was a little confused on where the line was drawn or if there was one at all.

"Are there any more things?" Julie asked, rummaging through a box.

"Nope, I put the stockings up when Will was putting together the tree," Emma explained, motioning to the next room where the stockings were.

"You did? I didn't see them," Rose remarked, as the group walked into the den. There were eight stockings over the fire place, even one for Will. "Oh good, you got one for Will."

"You didn't have to," Will said, walking up to it.

"I thought you'd like it," Emma replied. Will looked at his stocking it was blue with his name in red cursive but underneath it was a few snowflakes. Etched around the snowflakes were the words; hope, love, and courage. Will looked back at Emma, doing a double-take. Was this a sign? Maybe he was being paranoid but he was almost sure that the words were referring to them. Was this a sign of there still being hope for them? Only time would tell.

It was around ten at night and Will, Emma, James, and Claire were watching a re-run of 'The Office' on TV. The kids had gone to bed long ago and Rusty and Rose had gone about an hour ago. Will peered down at Emma who was sitting on the sofa next to him; James and Claire were across the room, absorbed in the show. Emma's eyes were fluttering open and closed, and he knew she was about to fall asleep soon. All of a sudden, Emma's eyes shut and her head slowly drooped down until it was resting on Will's shoulder. Will smiled, looking down at her. He kissed the top of her head and rested his on top of hers. Together, the two fell asleep peacefully.

_**So what did you think? Was it good or bad? Boring or interesting? I would love to know in a review! I'll probably post the next chapter on Sunday. For those of you who are wondering, I didn't forget about Carl. You'll hear from him soon. Please keep reviewing if you want me to keep going, your reviews are like my fuel for writing! ;) **_


	5. Chapter 5- Under the Mistletoe

Chapter 5- Under the Mistletoe

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, seeing them in my inbox really made my day! Just in case anyone didn't know, we're now on December 23**__**rd**__**, and Will and Emma have been there for two days. So, basically it's the third day. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Will Schuester woke as he felt something underneath shift. Will sat up and saw Emma slowly remove her head from his shoulder. She looked up at Will, a little confused. "Sorry, this is my fault. I should've," Will stammered, not wanting to upset Emma.

"Shh! It's fine, Will. I slept great," Emma laughed, stretching.

Will smiled. "What time is it?"

Emma looked at her watch. "It's eleven-thirty already, we slept in," Emma said, standing up.

Claire walked in, smiling at the two of them. "Finally! Rose made the room off-limits while you guys were sleeping, she didn't want anyone to wake up the sleepyheads," she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Will mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, you're lucky you're cute," Claire laughed. Will smiled at the two women, hoping that Emma agreed with her. Suddenly, Xavier and Julie rushed into the room, both wielding light sabers.

"Mommy! Can you take us outside to play in the snow?" Xavier asked, his blue eyes lighting up.

"Honey, how about tomorrow? Mommy's tired," Claire replied, ruffling his hair.

"But, tomorrow's Christmas Eve," Julie whined.

"What about Daddy? Maybe he can take you guys," Claire suggested, hopefully.

"He's out shopping again for your present," Xavier explained.

"Xavier, honey, I'm tired, not now," Claire explained, looking exhausted.

"But…" Julie started.

"Hey, I could take the kids outside," Will suggested, smiling. Xavier and Julie's faces lit up and they ran to get their coats and snow pants.

"Are you sure?" Claire said.

"Absolutely," Will replied and left to go get ready.

Ten minutes later, Claire and Emma gazed out the window. Xavier, Julie, and Will were running around in the snow, laughing. Emma laughed, they all looked like marshmallows with all their layers of clothes.

"He's really something," Claire commented.

"I know," Emma whispered, watching Will scoop up Julie. _This is all so complicated but simple. I can be with Will; the kind and cute Spanish teacher or Carl; the handsome and rich dentist. If I were to go with Will, it would create a huge mess though. And I don't like messes, even beautiful ones, _Emma thought, sadly.

"Don't get mad Emma but I think he's the one for you. It's obvious just seeing you two together, that you belong. You fell asleep on his shoulder and didn't have a panic attack in the morning. What would you do if you fell asleep on Carl's shoulder?" Claire explained.

"Um, I don't know." Emma looked out the window and could've sworn that Will winked at her.

"I have an idea. You and Will should go out tonight," Claire suggested.

"I'm dating Carl, Claire," Emma muttered.

"As friends. Joe's Café is having it's annual Christmas party, it's really fun," Claire replied.

"Okay, we'll go. I'm sure Carl won't mind," Emma said, smiling.

"Have you heard from him lately?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, I talked to him yesterday. He's doing great, I think you would like him if you met him," Emma admitted.

"I don't know, Will set the bar pretty high," Claire laughed. Emma rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Ready to go?" Will asked Emma. They were in Emma's Honda, getting ready to head over to the café. Will had happily agreed to a night out with Emma. The rest of their day ran smoothly; the family played board games and talked.

"Yeah, I'll drive," Emma replied, starting the car. "It's only a few blocks away."

"Cool, so what goes on at this party?" Will asked, smiling.

"Well, it's very festive. There's food and dancing. I think that there's usually karaoke and for like an hour they do an open microphone thing. It's for all songs, not just Christmas ones," Emma explained. _Maybe Will could sing, _Emma thought.

"Sounds fun. Have you ever sang?" Will asked, as they pulled into the parking lot.

"Oh no, no. You should though, you'd wow them with your skills," Emma laughed, truthfully hoping that he would sing.

"Maybe," Will laughed. _I could sing a song for Emma! Wait, would that be too much? I don't want to ruin the whole rest of the vacation, _Will contemplated. Will and Emma hopped out of the car and made their way to the door. Once again, Will was reminded of their just friends status; as he wasn't able to hold her hand like he used to. As they entered the café, they both glanced around. There were tons of couples slow dancing and people drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies. There was a DJ in the corner playing Justin Bieber's 'Mistletoe'. There was a stage upfront with a countdown board reading; 'Open Mic in 45 minutes'. "Wow, this place is nice," Will marveled, looking around.

"Yeah, it is," Emma replied. "Want to get some food?"

"Sure," Will said, eyeing the desserts table. Emma noticed this and laughed. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just you're so…" Emma started. Will's puppy dog eyes were fixed on her expectantly. "Adorkable," Emma decided.

"What?" Will laughed, hoping that was a good thing.

"You're an adorable dork," Emma replied, following him to the desserts table.

"Dork?" Will repeated, confused.

"Don't worry, it's a good thing," Emma assured him.

Will raised an eyebrow. "I hope so." _Adorable? Well, that parts good, _Will thought, smiling.

Emma grabbed a few napkins and grabbed a cookie for Will. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"Thanks." Will bit into his cookie, smiling. Will glanced at the couples slow dancing; there was a decent amount of people there. Something caught his eye from across the room. About every seven or so feet, there was mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. _If we ended up under the mistletoe…would Emma kiss me? Or would she shy away? _Will thought, gazing at Emma.

"So, are you going to sing?" Emma asked, bringing Will back to reality.

"I have something in mind," Will replied, a twinkle in his hazel eyes. A man who looked to be about forty walked up on the stage.

"Hello everyone! Everybody having a good time?" the man asked, and there were scattered shouts of 'yeah' and 'yes.' "I'm Joe, the owner of this café. So, my friends and I have decided to move up the time for the open mic session. You can sing any songs, Christmas or no. Anybody want to go first?" Joe offered. Three twenty-something women raised their hands together. "Alright, are you three a group?" They nodded and scampered to the stage. The young ladies began singing 'Santa Baby' and the rest of the people were either singing along or dancing.

"See? You should totally sing next, Will," Emma suggested, smiling at him. "Those girls aren't even that good."

"Okay, I will," Will replied, as their song began to end. The crowd clapped despite the fact that their singing wasn't the best.

"Who wants to go next?" one of the girls asked from the stage. Will and a few older guys raised their hands. "Okay…um, the cutie in the gray shirt." Will looked down at his shirt, he was wearing a gray henley.

"That's you, Will," Emma whispered. Will nodded and made his way to the stage. One of the girls handed him the microphone and told him to say his name to the crowd.

"Hi I'm Will," Will greeted the crowd, many people nodded and Emma gave him an encouraging look. He turned around and one of the band members handed him an acoustic guitar as he asked. Will hopped up on the stool and began strumming the guitar quickly.

_"Lately I've found myself thinking,"_

_ "Been dreaming about you a lot,"_

_ "And up in my head I'm your boyfriend,"_

_ "But that's one thing you've already got," _Will sang, looking at Emma. Emma smiled at him, understanding the painful lyrics.

_"He drives to school every morning," _

_ "While I walk alone in the rain,"_

_ "He'd kill me without any warning,"_

_ "If he took a look in my brain,"_

_ "Would he say he's in L-O-V-E?"_

_ "Well, if it was me, then I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he hold you when you're feeling low?"_

_ "Baby you should know,"_

_ "That I would,"_

_ "I would," _Will continued, winking at Emma. Emma gave him a thumbs-up before he carried on.

_"Back in my head we were kissing,"_

_ "I thought things were going alright,"_

_ "With a sign on my back saying 'Kick Me'"_

_ "Reality ruined my life,"_

_ "Feels like I'm constantly playing,"_

_ "A game that I'm destined to lose,"_

_ "'Cause I can't compete with your boyfriend,"_

_ "He's got 27 tattoos!"_

_ "Would he say he's in L-O-V-E?"_

_ "Well if it was me, then I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he hold you when you're feeling low?"_

_ "Baby you should know,"_

_ "That I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he say he's in L-O-V-E?"_

_ "Well if it was me, then I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he hold you when you're feeling low?"_

_ "Baby you should know,"_

_ "That I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he please you?"_

_ "Would he kiss you?"_

_ "Would he treat you like I would?"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he touch you?"_

_ "Would he need you?"_

_ "Would he love you like I would?"_

_ "Would he say he's in L-O-V-E?" _

_ "Well if it was me, then I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he hold you when you're feeling low?"_

_ "Baby you should know,"_

_ "That I would,"_

_ "Would he please you?"_

_ "Would he kiss you?_

_ "Would he treat you like I would?"_

_ "Would he touch you?"_

_ "Would he need you?"_

_ "Would he love you like I would?"_

_ "Would he say he's in L-O-V-E?"_

_ "Well if it was me, then I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "Would he hold you when you're feeling low?"_

_ "Baby you should know,"_

_ "That I would,"_

_ "I would,"_

_ "I would," _Will finished, smiling at Emma. The crowd erupted into applause, hoots, and whistles. Will bowed and handed the microphone to the next person in line. As he made his way to Emma, he was greeted with compliments and pats on the back.

"Will!" Emma ran up and hugged him. Will hugged her back immediately and smiled into her shoulder. "You were amazing!"

"Thanks," Will replied, as they separated. "Emma…I meant every word I said in that song," Will whispered, as if he was afraid that somehow Carl would hear.

"I loved it," Emma replied, dodging the obvious. She knew that this was his way of saying he loved her; he didn't want to tell her in fear that she would be angry. "Want to dance?"

"Of course," Will replied, following Emma to the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Will placed his hands on her hips. They began swaying to a pretty good rendition of the Plain White T's 'Hey There Delilah'. "I'm really happy that you invited me here."

"I'm glad you came," Emma replied, smiling at him lovingly. Even in a room filled with people, it felt like they were the only two people dancing.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Will asked.

"I don't know yet," Emma replied. _You, _she thought. "What do you want?"

"To be there for you," Will whispered. Emma blushed, she could tell he meant her.

Emma glanced up and spotted a familiar thing hanging from the ceiling. "Look, we're under the mistletoe."

"Oh, yeah," Will replied, unsure of what she wanted to do. A smile tugged on the corner of Emma's lips.

"Well…" Emma started.

"We don't have to, if you don't," Will began. Emma tilted her head up and cut him off with a kiss. She could feel him melting under her lips and smiling, after a slow and sweet kiss they pulled away. Will smiled dopily, almost trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Emma teased, still light-headed from the kiss. It had made her knees grow weak and filled her stomach with butterflies.

"It definitely wasn't," Will agreed, smiling. After a few more minutes of both of them stuck in lovesick dazes, they continued on with their playful conversations. Around ten at night, they headed back home.

"I had a great time," Will announced, as they walked through the front door.

"Me too," Emma agreed, looking around the house. Everyone was asleep, as far as she could tell.

"Thank you for everything," Will said, as they reached their rooms. _Especially the kiss, _he thought.

"Thank you, Will. That was one of the best nights I've had in a while," Emma admitted. _Because of me? _Will thought. Emma leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before disappearing into her room. It wasn't as good as their kiss under the mistletoe but for now, Will would take whatever he could get.

_**So what did you think? Did you like it? Was it good or bad? I'll probably update on Tuesday again. Please review, I love hearing from you guys and come on, I want to know what you thought of the wemma fluffiness. See you soon! R&R! ;)**_


	6. Chapter 6- Christmas Eve

Chapter 6- Christmas Eve

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! I forgot to mention it but last chapter's song was 'I Would' by One Direction. I was listening to that song with a friend and just thought it screamed wemma. Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, there was a slight dip in the number but I still liked hearing from some people. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Emma Pillsbury awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. Emma looked at the caller ID, it was Carl. "Hey," she said, picking up the phone.

"Good morning, beautiful," Carl greeted. "How's the trip so far?"

"It's been great," Emma replied, happily. It really had been, spending all her time with Will.

"How's Will?" Carl asked, catching Emma off guard.

"I, um, he's good. Everyone loves him," Emma stammered. _Should I tell Carl that we kissed? Will he get mad? Uh, yeah, he'll get mad. Well, it was just under the mistletoe so we were following the rules. Even if the kiss was great and he was such a gentleman, _Emma thought.

"Even you?" Carl questioned. When he heard Emma's rapid breathing on the other end, he stopped fooling around. "Relax, I was just kidding."

"I, um, I know," Emma mumbled.

"Well, I've got to go but can I talk to you tonight?" Carl said.

"I don't know, we might be busy," Emma replied, noticing Will in her doorway.

"Okay, bye honey."

"Bye Carl," Emma said, placing her phone back on her nightstand. Will looked down at his socks, shyly. _She was just talking to her boyfriend…I have to stop thinking that something is ever going to happen between us. That kiss was probably just an obligation to her, to me it was a dream come true. Maybe something will happen with us, eventually. A Christmas miracle, _Will thought.

"Hey Will," Emma greeted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," Will replied. _I wish I could just sleep forever because you're so close in my dreams but once I wake up, well, reality's harsh, _Will thought. "It's Christmas Eve," Will remarked, smiling.

"Yeah, it's so exciting. It's going to be a big day," Emma replied, walking with Will down the stairs.

"Yeah, I love Christmas Eve. Especially the anticipation," Will mentioned, as they arrived in the kitchen. James and Rusty were the only people in the kitchen.

"Hey guys," James said, drinking his coffee.

"Good morning," Rusty greeted, looking up from his newspaper.

"Good morning," Will yawned, as Emma put in toast for both of them.

"The kids are really excited," Rusty remarked, smiling.

"Yeah, they've been talking about you a lot, Will," James replied.

"Really?" Will smiled.

"Don't look so surprised, they adore you," James laughed.

"Thanks, where are they?" Will wondered.

"Kicking Claire's butt on the Wii in the basement," James explained, while Rusty, Will, and Emma laughed. "Well, I've got to go get dressed."

"Yeah, me too," Rusty agreed, and the two of them headed back upstairs.

"Thanks," Will said, as Emma handed him a plate of toast and fruit. Will bit into his toast and munched thoughtfully.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm great, why?" Will replied, confused. _I don't get it, we kissed last night…and it really didn't mean anything to you. I just thought, that, I don't know, maybe it would change things, _Will thought.

"You just looked a little down but I guess I was wrong," Emma replied. "Last night was fun."

"Yeah, it was awesome," Will mumbled, smiling. He immediately thought of their kiss, and how perfect it had been.

"So, we usually have a nice Christmas Eve dinner of like appetizers," Emma mentioned, placing her empty plate in the sink.

"Appetizers?" Will repeated, curiously.

"Oh yeah, it's really good though. Um, there's like a bunch of different cheeses, meats, crackers, finger foods, and other things like calamari and such," Emma explained.

"Sounds good," Will agreed.

"We eat out in the den and watch Christmas movies until like eleven. Everyone goes to bed and well, the younger ones try to sleep." Emma smiled, memories of her childhood Christmases dancing in her head.

"That's nice, I can't wait," Will announced, following Emma out of the kitchen. Will and Emma bounded up the steps and reached the upstairs hallway. "Well, I got to go get dressed."

"Yeah," Emma agreed, walking into her own room.

Will pulled on a turquoise Abercrombie t-shirt with a football decal on the front and dark khakis. Will gave himself the once-over in the mirror and then walked out of his room with confidence. It was decided, today would be the day that he told Emma he loved her.

It was after lunch, and the three women were talking and reading People magazines in the den. Then men were downstairs, playing the new _Madden_ game on Xbox 360, while the kids were playing in their room. "So, have you thought any more about you, Carl, and Will?" Rose asked, politely.

"It's like a juicy love triangle," Claire gushed, looking up from her magazine.

Emma's face flushed and she shook her head. "I really like Carl."

"But…" Claire started. Emma rolled her eyes and tried to read about Kate Middleton's pregnancy. "You love Will."

"What? No," Emma shot back, giving Claire a look.

"Then why are you still friends with him? You can't be friends with somebody you used to love, trust me, it's impossible. The only way you can is if you both still have feelings for each other, even if one is too dimwitted to admit it," Claire explained, motioning at Emma.

"It's not like that," Emma mumbled.

"Well, Will's hoping it is. You know you're hurting him by doing this, right? You're getting his hopes up but still moving along with Carl. How do you think Will's going to feel when you and Carl get married one day? It'll crush him. He only lets you string him along because he loves you that much, that right now he'll take anything he can get," Claire explained, actually sounding pretty smart.

Emma buried her face in her hands wondering if Claire was right. "I kissed Will last night," she whispered, guiltily.

Both women gawked at her. "Really?" Rose asked, incredulously.

"Well, yes, but it's not what you think. We were slow dancing after he sang this song for me and well, I looked up and there was mistletoe. He was kind of unsure of what to say and I was like 'rules are rules', and then I just leaned over and kissed him." Emma smiled just thinking of their kiss.

"Was he a good kisser?" Claire questioned, smirking. Emma opened her mouth to reply but just then all three men jogged up the steps.

"Hey babe," James greeted, pecking the side of Claire's head.

"Hey honey, did you win?" Claire replied. Rusty laughed loudly.

"No! Will killed him, it was something like 72-12," Rusty laughed. Will shrugged, standing off in the corner. In this moment, Emma wished she could walk up and kiss him like last night but sadly, she couldn't.

It was around nine-thirty and everyone was gathered around the coffee table watching _The Polar Express. _Xavier and Julie were sitting on the floor, still eating Pizza Rolls. Rusty, Rose, James, and Claire were sprawled on a couch, James scarfing down calamari and shrimp. Lastly, Will and Emma were sharing the other sofa. The two were sitting so close that their knees were touching, this wasn't unnoticed by Will. Emma leaned over and whispered to Will, "This is my favorite part." Will smiled; he could feel the warmth and kindness in her breath. It reminded him of lying down in the grass and having the cool, green strands tickling your ears and neck.

"Mine too," he replied, wishing she didn't move backwards to resume her position on the sofa.

About an hour later, when the movie ended, James and Claire took Xavier and Julie upstairs to go to bed. Emma, Will, Rusty, and Rose placed their presents for the family around the tree. "You two can go to bed, if you want," Rose suggested. "We can handle it from here."

"Okay," Emma agreed, kissing her parents goodnight. Rose hugged Will and wished him a goodnight as well. Will and Emma then scurried up the steps as James and Claire bounded down.

"Shh! You guys have to be quiet, or else Santa won't come," Julie warned them, as they passed the kids room.

"We know, honey," Emma said.

"Good night, we'll see you guys in the morning," Will whispered.

"I'm going to change but we can talk after that," Emma offered, walking into her room. Will nodded, and walked into his own room. A few minutes later, Will knocked on Emma's door and entered when she let him. He was wearing green and red plaid flannel pajama pants and a long sleeve dark gray shirt. Emma had changed into a lime green long sleeve shirt and light pink flannel pajama pants. "Hi Will," Emma greeted.

"Hey," Will mumbled, looking a little nervous.

"So, you know…tomorrow morning the kids are going to be up really early," Emma commented, smiling.

"I figured," Will replied, smiling. _Come on, Will, just say it. Say what's so obvious to everyone including Emma, _he thought.

"Yeah, they'll probably be waking everyone up at six," Emma laughed.

"Yeah, I was the same way," Will agreed.

"Can you even wake up that early now?" Emma asked, laughing.

Will ran a hand through his chestnut curls. "Emma, I need to tell you something."

"About how you're going to end up sleeping through Christmas?" Emma joked.

"No, I just need to…" Will started.

"Go to the bathroom? Because you look like something wrong's with you right now," Emma laughed, not picking up on Will's seriousness.

"Emma, I'm serious," Will said, frustrated.

"Oh, don't get all flustered. I'm just joking. What did you want…" Emma started, before Will cut her off.

"Emma, I love you," Will announced.

"What?" Emma whispered, she hadn't heard Will say that after Regionals, and he promised to back off.

"I know that the timing's not ideal but I just really needed to say that. You obviously are with Carl and not me so…um, yeah. I just think that what we had is really special and I think it's still there, the spark. I can feel it when we look at each other and when we kissed last night. There's something there, and you and I both know it. You can't look me in the eyes right now and tell me that you didn't feel anything special with me," Will confessed, looking at her with hazel puppy dog eyes.

"Will…" Emma started, at a loss for words. "I-I didn't feel anything," Emma lied. "I'm sorry, I really am, I just, I can't. You're a really great guy but…"

"The spark's just one-sided?" Will said, faking a smile. Will could feel his throat constricting and his vision was beginning to blur. "I should go."

"Wait…" Emma started, but Will was already out the door. Emma crawled into her bed, feeling horrible. _Why couldn't I just tell the truth? That yeah, I felt a spark…I always have when I'm with Will. It's always been there and no matter how hard I try to get rid of it, it's impossible for it to go away. Why didn't I say something? His face…he looked crushed. Devastated. I wish that I didn't have to make him feel that way. I'm so stupid, I should've just told him the truth. That I love him. Yes, I do. I love Will, always have and always will, _Emma thought. Emma tossed and turned for a few more minutes before slipping on her iPod. After about twenty minutes, it seemed impossible. Emma had dug herself into a hole so deep that even Taylor Swift couldn't pull her out of it. Emma sat up and looked around. By now, everyone was in bed, even the other adults. Emma tip-toed into Will's room, not wanting to get caught. Emma peered through the door, a beam of light shining on him. Emma walked up to him, checking if he was awake. "Will," Emma whispered. "Will, are you awake?" No reply, Emma leaned over, he was definitely asleep. Emma watched him, trying to take in his presence. His chest slowly rose and fell, on a continuous loop. Will's long eyelashes framed his closed eyes perfectly and he suddenly inhaled deeply through his mouth. Emma smiled and wondered if he was thinking of her. _Of course he is, you just crushed him, idiot! Well, now he's going to have a great Christmas, _Emma thought, upset at herself. Emma reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, he didn't budge.

Emma placed her hand on the side of his head, lovingly. She ran a hand through his soft curls and traced his jawline slowly. Lastly, Emma placed a hand on his heart. She felt it beating rapidly, the steady thump that ached for her love. "I love you, Will," Emma whispered, caressing his cheek. Emma looked at him one last time before slipping out of his room and back into the darkness.

_**So did you like it? What did you think, good or bad? I love hearing from you guys, so please everyone review! I really appreciate it and am hoping for more every chapter, they keep me writing. If you guys could let me know in a review if you want Will to have been secretly awake while Emma was in his room or just asleep, that would be great. I will count your votes...I have an idea for if he was secretly awake. Also, last chapter someone asked if I would change the rating…the answer is no, sorry. I prefer to write at this level, I hope this doesn't upset you and you keep reading and reviewing. Also, Will's confession scene was very, very, loosely based off Jim's confession in the Office during the Casino Night episode. There was like one similarity but I just thought that I should point that out, the rest was my imagination. R&R please! ;)**_


	7. Chapter 7- Open Hearts

Chapter 7- Open Hearts

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter! You guys are so nice! All of you said secretly awake so that's what I decided to do. I hope you like it! Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

"Emma, Will!" Xavier and Julie shouted, in unison. It was six-thirty in the morning, and the two had just been allowed out of their room. While the two little kids ran into Emma's room first, Will slowly rolled over and sat up. He'd secretly been awake last night when Emma came into his room, thought he was asleep and declared that she felt the same way. _She said she loved me! Should I have stopped her from leaving the room and told her that I heard what she said? Would Emma be mad if I told her now? I just, I can't believe it. Emma does love me but…then why did she deny it last night? She could've told me at least to my face. I'm glad she did say something; even if she thought I was sleeping…if she didn't then I would feel horrible. Getting rejected and actually thinking I had a chance with her. Wait, do I? Maybe she loves me but she is in love with Carl…is that even possible? Maybe I should just ask her to forget about what I said last night so that the rest of the trip isn't awkward, _Will debated, a smile on his face as Emma, Julie, and Xavier entered the room.

"Hey Emma," Will greeted, as Xavier ripped the covers off his bed. Emma nodded, biting her lip shyly.

"Come on, Will! It's Christmas! We have to see if Santa came!" Julie yelled, excitedly. Will hopped out of his bed and followed the three of them into the hallway. He wanted to say something to Emma but Claire, James, Rusty, and Rose were all waiting in the hallway.

"Good morning, honey," Rose greeted. Julie and Xavier were practically diving down the stairs. "Kids, be careful! Don't open anything until we get there!" Rose called after them.

James, Claire, Rusty, and Rose followed the younger kids down the stairs. "Good morning, Will," Emma said, smiling. _I know I told him I love him when he was asleep but somehow it feels like he heard me…felt good to get it off my chest. Oh crap, I keep forgetting…he didn't hear me! In his mind, he thinks he probably made a fool out of himself and got crushed, _Emma thought, frantically.

"Emma, I, uh, can we just like forget what I said last night? I mean, I do mean what I said but like you don't uh, feel the same way and I don't want it to be weird," Will stammered. _Well, she sort of does feel the same way, _Will thought, sadly.

"I understand and I'm glad you said it. It made me rethink a lot of things so thank you for being honest," Emma started. She saw the familiar sparkle in Will's hazel eyes return at the possibility of here rethinking things with Carl. "But, I don't want to forget what you said." Will's head snapped up at this. _Oh my God! Does she really love me? Is this a sign or am I going crazy? She said she loved me but didn't say she was in love with me. Is there a difference between the two? I think there was something like that in one of Terri's old chick flicks, _Will thought. "What you said was beautiful and honest, the kind of hopeless devotion that little girls dream about."

Will looked up sadly. _Hopeless devotion? Does she think that we're a hopeless cause? _Will thought, sadly. "No, no I didn't mean like literally hopeless, I meant metaphorically. I don't think you're hopeless…I don't think we're hopeless," Emma stated, as if answering his question. _Did I just say that out loud? Well, so much for not feeling a spark. Crap, he's looking at me like I'm crazy now. I'm sending him really mixed-up signals right now, I need to stop, _Emma thought. Emma cleared her throat and began again. "I think we should just keep your um, confession in the back of our minds but maybe not talking about it would be the best."

Will nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds good. I think we're needed downstairs," Will replied. He wasn't really angry or sad now; instead he was happy but frustrated. The girl of his dreams loved him but they couldn't be together yet for unknown reasons. Will shook of the feeling of frustration and just kept the happiness inside of him as they walked into the den.

"Finally!" Xavier announced, exhaustedly, as the two entered the room. "Now can we open presents?"

"Yes," Claire said, watching her kids. Xavier and Julie ripped through packages, cries of 'yes' and 'I love it' echoed through the room.

Emma placed a small hand on Will's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Merry Christmas," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Emma. This is the best Christmas ever," Will replied, smiling at her.

"You haven't even opened your presents yet," Emma laughed. Unknown to Will, this was also Emma's new favorite Christmas too. Spending so much time with Will had been a dream come true to her as well.

"I already have the greatest present ever, being here with you," Will admitted, bashfully. _Well, that and you saying you loved me, _Will thought, smiling.

"I love spending time with you too," Emma said, having to stop herself from saying 'I love you too' accidently. Will smiled; the honesty and warmth from her comment filling the emptiness in his heart from her half-rejection.

"Come on, there are presents for you guys too, you know," James teased, unwrapping a new tie from Claire.

Emma grabbed Will's hand and pulled him to the Christmas tree, smiling. Will smiled dopily, his hand was a perfect fit in hers, and it felt like he'd held it a million times. "Ours are over here, Will," Emma mentioned, dropping his hand and handing a present to him. Will looked at the tag.

"It's from James and I," Claire declared, smiling. Will opened it up to find a red and gray striped Abercrombie long sleeve shirt.

Will smiled. "Thanks so much, I love it." Everyone proceeded to open their gifts until the only ones left were from Emma to Will and Will to Emma.

"Hey, Xavier, Julie, let's go start opening up those new toys," Rusty suggested, motioning for everyone to leave the room. All the adults and kids left the room, no doubt on purpose to leave Will and Emma alone. So far, Will had gotten the shirt from James and Claire, Ed Sheeran's new CD from Rusty and Rose, and the new Spiderman movie on DVD from Julie and Xavier. Will had given presents to everyone and they all loved what they got, especially the kids.

Emma handed Will a box with Christmas tree wrapping paper and Will handed her a box with gingerbread man wrapping paper. "Merry Christmas, Emma."

"Merry Christmas, Will," Emma replied, looking down at her present. The tag said To: Emma Love, Will. Emma smiled, remembering last night's declaration. "You can go first."

"No, we can open them together," Will offered, the cute lopsided smile stuck on his face.

"Okay, on three." Emma grabbed her box and Will grabbed his. "One, two, three!"

Will ripped through the paper to find the new Dr. Dre Beats headphones in white and red. Emma got three new cardigans from J. Crew and _The Lucky One _on DVD. Both of their faces broke into smiles at the sight of their presents, and they looked up at each other. "Emma, this is awesome! Thank you so much! How'd you know I needed headphones?" Will exclaimed, the dopiness returning to his persona.

"A few weeks ago, your headphones broke. You know the ones that already had so many tears, rips, and were covered in electrical tape?" Emma laughed. Will smiled, surprised she remembered that. It had been a day before Will sang 'Toxic' when he told her. "Anyways, I love what you got me! It's a lot Will…J. Crew's a really nice store and I love the cardigans. Plus, I don't even remember telling you that _The Lucky One_ is my favorite Nicholas Sparks movie."

Will smiled; he remembered her telling him that. Lately, every little conversation that they had had been burned into his head for him to replay later. He was really glad that Emma enjoyed his presents, except he hadn't given her the real present yet. He had gotten her something else; a bigger thing but wasn't going to give it to her yet. He didn't want to overwhelm her and after last night, his confidence level wasn't exactly a hundred percent. Will had used his Christmas bonus and cut back a little bit during December to afford Emma's presents, not that he was going to tell her that. He was sure that the dentist could give her anything without having to save up like a little kid.

Emma looked at Will, who was studying the box of his headphones. She knew that he must've put some money to the side for her presents…money that he didn't have. Will had told Emma that since the divorce, money had been pretty tough and he was struggling a bit financially. She knew that was one of the things he was insecure about when being compared to Carl. Emma could tell that Will was going to hug her but second-guessed himself at the last second. "Come here." Emma wrapped her arms around him and instantly felt at home in his embrace. "Remember? Nothing's going to be different between us…we're still best friends," she whispered into his strong arms. _Best friends who are in love with each other, _Emma thought.

"Emma?" Will mumbled, after they pulled away. Emma looked at him, lovingly. "This really is the best Christmas ever."

"I know," Emma replied, smiling and guiltily picturing future Christmases with them together.

Will jogged down the stairs after getting dressed for their early dinner. He had put on a green sweater that hugged his biceps and dark tan khakis. Emma was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs; she had just gotten off the phone with Carl. Of course, once again she hadn't told Carl anything that had happened with Will. "Hey Will," Emma smiled. "You look nice."

Will blushed a little, smiling. "Yeah, I just thought maybe I should put on something nicer for Christmas dinner, you know. Maybe it's too much," Will stuttered, bashfully.

"No, don't. You look really cute," Emma admitted, smiling at him. Will's face turned a little redder and he smiled shyly. "Let's go have dinner."

Will nodded and followed Emma to the kitchen, where everyone was already seated around the table. Xavier smiled at the two of them and put down the Iron Man action figure that Will got him. "I saved you the seat next to Emma's chair," Xavier announced, winking at Will all too obviously. Emma laughed and Will pulled out a chair for her before sitting in his own. Twenty minutes into dinner, the food was served and everyone was happy.

"Will, we all just want to say that we're so happy to have you here," Rose declared, smiling at him.

Will smiled. "I wouldn't want it any other way." Emma looked at him, and had to fight the urge to hold his hand.

"What about Emma's other boyfriend?" Julie asked, curiously. Will bit his lip and looked down at his lap. Claire shot Julie a glare from a few seats down and even Xavier glared at his sister. Everyone was either glaring at Julie or sending nervous looks around the table. Emma looked at Will, with compassion and tenderness floating in her brown eyes. There couldn't have been a worse time for Julie to say that with Will getting rejected last night.

"Well…" Emma started, forcing a smile. "He's not as special as Will is to me." Emma took Will's hand in hers under the table and Will looked up at her, smiling. After a few more seconds, Rusty started talking about everyone's presents and Will turned to face Emma, their hands still intertwined.

"Do you really mean that? Because…please don't say it if you don't," Will whispered. Emma smiled and rubbed her thumb in circles on his hand.

"I do really mean that. I would never say anything I don't mean," Emma confessed. _Does that mean you really love me like you said last night? Or is that an exception? _Will thought.

Will almost asked about that but stopped himself at the last second, instead talking about her present to him. Throughout the whole dinner, Emma held onto Will's hand, never once letting go.

After dinner, the women and Will did the dishes. Will hated doing the dishes but was happy to help if it meant spending more time with Emma. When they finished, Claire and Rose went to the den to play with the kids and listen to Christmas music with everyone. "I have to go to the bathroom," Will mumbled, running up the stairs and leaving behind a confused Emma. Once upstairs, Will dug into his duffel bag and pulled out the rectangular box. He then reached into his nightstand drawer and pulled out the letter. Will looked at the two objects and then made up his mind, walking out of the room. He heard Emma talking to James downstairs and decided the coast was clear. _Where should I put it? Under the pillow? _Will thought. He shrugged to himself and placed the letter under her pillow, carefully. _I hope she reads it, and it doesn't get lost, _he thought. Will walked out and slipped the box in his pocket. He bounded down the steps and caught Emma's eye from the den's doorway. "Can I talk to you? Upstairs?" Will asked, hopefully.

"Sure," Emma replied, leaving the room and following him up the stairs. "So, what's up?"

"I have another gift for you," Will admitted, pulling the box out of his pocket. Emma saw the Kay Jeweler's sign on the front and instantly knew it was a necklace.

"Will, this is too much," Emma started. "You didn't have to do this." Will knew this was Emma's way of telling him that he didn't have the money to do this.

"You haven't even opened it yet," Will smiled, handing her the box. Emma slid off the lid to find a silver necklace with an s-shaped pendant on it. It wasn't an s though, it was two hearts. They were both opened, making the overall shape like an s. Emma smiled, shocked. "I picked it out because of the two open hearts. I want you to know that my heart is always open to you. I think you're the first person I've truly, completely opened my heart too. I was afraid to, after what happened with Terri. I didn't want to be vulnerable again. My heart's been yours since our first kiss at Sectionals. The second open heart is yours. I just want you to keep an open heart with me. I'm not trying to overwhelm you but if anything goes wrong with Carl, just know that I'll be here waiting for you. If you ever feel anything between us again, just let me know. Please don't close off any possibility of us ever happening again," Will confessed. He wanted to say 'I love you' again but didn't want to get rejected twice.

"I love it," Emma said, blinking back happy tears. "Can you help me put it on?"

"Sure." Will lifted her hair and clasped the necklace together in the back. Emma placed a hand to the necklace as if it radiated Will's love for her. Emma turned to face Will, smiling.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. Emma leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, before hugging him for a long time.

That night, both Emma and Will went to bed feeling closer to one another than before. Emma crawled under the covers, not noticing the love letter underneath her pillow. _Oh God, I really think I love Will, _Emma thought to herself, touching the heart pendant one last time.

_**So what did you guys think? Good or bad? I saw the necklace on a commercial, lol. Do you think Emma should find the letter? Or should it be the letter that was never read? Please let me know in a review, I'll be counting up the votes again. What you think does count. I'll probably update on Saturday. Thanks for reading and please vote in a review again! ;)**_


	8. Chapter 8- Dear Emma

Chapter 8- Dear Emma

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, there was a slight dip but nonetheless I'm thankful for those who did review. Okay, a lot of people gave me brilliant ideas in reviews last chapter, thanks so much! So, I decided to combine Sydney3, ILoveWemma, friends210's ideas and put my own spin on it. I hope you guys like what I did with it and enjoy the chapter. Oh yeah, and everyone said they wanted to see the letter so that's in here too. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Emma rolled over in her bed, opened her eyes, and glanced at the time. It was nine in the morning, and she could hear that almost everyone was awake. The guidance counselor swung her legs over the side of her bed and walked out of her bedroom, heading to Will's room. Emma peered into his room; Will was asleep on his stomach. She walked over and shook his shoulder, softly. "Will, wake up," Emma whispered. "It's already nine."

Will's hazel eyes slowly fluttered open and he rubbed them. He slowly sat up and smiled at Emma. "Good morning," he mumbled, sleepily. Emma smiled, deciding that Will's sleepy voice was just about the cutest thing she had ever heard.

"Breakfast?" Emma offered, pulling him out of bed. Will smiled, pretending to resist Emma's attempts to pull him out from under the covers.

"Okay," Will agreed, letting her pull him up. He followed her out of the room and down to the kitchen. Claire was in the den, watching the _Today_ show, but no one else seemed to be around. "Hey," Will greeted her.

"Hi Will, Emma. Rusty, Rose, and James went out for the morning; they had to pick up groceries at Sam's Club. I think Xavier and Julie are in the basement playing _Mario Kart,_" Claire mentioned, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Okay," Emma said, pouring her and Will bowls of Cheerios. Their breakfast conversations were nice, like usual they included the subtle flirting. After breakfast, Will and Emma went upstairs and changed into their clothes and shortly after that, the rest of the adults returned home.

"Are you two peeking?" Emma asked. Will, Emma, Xavier, and Julie were playing hide and go seek while Claire and Rose were preparing lunch. They were playing on teams; Will and Xavier against Emma and Julie.

"No," Will laughed, glancing at Xavier. Before Emma could reply, the doorbell rang. "Is anybody supposed to be coming?"

"No," Emma shook her head. "It's probably just a Girl Scout selling cookies or something." Will nodded, as he heard Rusty talking to somebody. Emma's ears perked up at the voice she heard, it was a man's voice…Carl's voice. Without saying anything to Will, Emma jogged down the steps. Will and the two kids followed quickly behind her.

"Emma!" Carl exclaimed, as she ran to him. He kissed her passionately, no doubt because Will was standing right there. Will looked in the other direction as Carl practically shoved his tongue down her throat.

"You didn't tell me you were coming," Emma laughed, after they pulled away from each other. Will rubbed his neck and took sudden interest in his socks.

"I didn't know I was able to. I can only stay for the rest of the day…I have to head back to Detroit very early tomorrow morning. I'm going to spend the night at the local Holiday Inn. Is it okay if I can spend the day here with your family?" Carl explained, smirking.

"Sure," Rusty mumbled, watching Will out of the corner of his eye. Emma's dad could already tell that he preferred Will over Carl, any day.

"Great! Come in, I'll introduce you to everyone," Emma exclaimed, pulling Carl by his hand. As Emma was introducing Carl to her parents, James, and Claire; the kids were trying to figure out what was going on.

Xavier tugged on the bottom of Will's shirt. "Is that Emma's boyfriend?" Xavier whispered.

"Yeah," Will mumbled, grimacing. Since Carl had walked through the door, Emma had completely forgotten about him.

"Don't worry; I don't think anyone likes him. We all like you," Xavier said, offering Will a hopeful smile.

"He looks mean," Julie whispered, staring at Carl. Just then, Emma and Carl turned to the three of them.

"You two must be Xavier and Julie," Carl smiled, ignoring Will. Xavier glared at him and crossed his arms, attempting to look tough. Julie took a different approach; sticking her tongue out and running away. Claire tried to stifle her laugh but failed and James even cracked a smile.

"Sorry about that, they're not used to guests," James explained, smiling.

"We're used to Will," Xavier grumbled, glaring at Carl. Will almost laughed at the kids not liking Carl very much.

"Oh, hey there, buddy," Carl sneered, finally looking at Will.

"Hi Carl," Will said, trying to gauge Emma's reaction to all of this. She looked a little on edge and happy.

"Long time, no see, bro. I hope you've been respecting my Emma," Carl challenged, obviously trying to tick Will off.

Will bit his lip hard when Carl called Emma his…it didn't sound right, he was being too possessive. "Will's been great and a perfect gentleman," Rose replied, defensively.

"I'm sure he has," Carl smiled, not meaning it.

"Well, why don't we all go to the den?" Emma suggested, sensing the tension in the air.

Everyone nodded and walked into the den, where Julie was sitting on the couch. Will sat down in between Julie and Xavier, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Carl, Emma says that Will is more special to her than you," Julie blurted out, recalling yesterday's conversation. Emma's face turned scarlet and Will pulled at the hem of shirt.

"Julie! Let's go upstairs and play with your new Barbie's," Claire announced, clapping her hands and walking up to Julie. Julie hopped off the couch and followed her mom upstairs.

"How's Detroit so far?" Emma asked, Carl's arm draped around her shoulder.

"It's been great, busy, but great. I would much rather be down here with you," Carl replied, smiling at everyone.

"So, do you like being a dentist?" James questioned, trying to be nice. He too already didn't like Carl; he just seemed so smug and confident unlike Will. It was either Will was super likable or Carl kind of had a way of coming off as a jerk.

"Well, yeah. Sticking your hands in people's mouths isn't that fun but it pays well. Really well," Carl smirked, his eyes flicking towards Will when he mentioned his pay. Rusty rolled his eyes really obviously and Will fidgeted in his seat.

"That's great, dear," Rose replied, smiling. Rose could tell that Carl despised Will and Rose felt bad for Will. The poor guy was just sitting there watching his crush swooning over her boyfriend. "Did you already have lunch?"

"Yeah, but I can sit with everyone," Carl said, smiling down at Emma.

"Okay, well let's go have lunch," Rusty announced, standing up and leaving the room. Everyone began walking towards the kitchen and James started talking to Carl, leaving Emma with Will.

Emma placed a hand on Will's shoulder, soothingly, while they walked. "Are you okay?" Emma asked.

Will shrugged and forced a smile. "I'm fine, it's okay really. I mean, he is your boyfriend…you only brought me here because he couldn't come."

"No, I would've loved to have you here anyways," Emma admitted, glancing at Carl.

"I guess," Will replied, as they entered the kitchen.

Lunch was awkward for everyone; especially Will, Carl, and Emma. Xavier and Julie didn't help either; they gave Carl dirty looks every chance they got. Everyone could tell that Will was nervous and a little hurt and Emma just looked a little confused. After lunch was over, Will disappeared to the basement with Julie and Xavier to play on the Wii. Everyone else was in the den, talking to Carl. "Hey Emma, do you think that you could help me with something?" Claire asked, sweetly.

"Um, sure," Emma agreed, leaving the room to follow Claire. Once they were on the stairs, Claire stopped.

"Sit down," Claire said and Emma plopped down next to her. "Emma, this is horrible."

"Tell me about it," Emma groaned.

"I hate Carl," Claire announced, watching Emma's reaction.

"What? Why? He's so nice and handsome," Emma stammered, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Sorry but he's just really smug and arrogant. Plus, you can totally tell that he's trying to make Will feel horrible."

"No he isn't, Carl has nothing against Will," Emma lied.

"He has everything against Will. I personally think he's jealous of Will; Will's everything he's not, nice, cute, smart, and likable. Anyways, he's totally making fun of Will. Did you hear his comments about his job's pay? That was incredibly rude," Claire explained.

"Yeah, it was," Emma agreed, softly. "Claire, I think I might love Will still."

"I know you do," Claire mentioned, smiling. "So, you have to tell him and get rid of Carl."

"But I love Carl."

"Trust me; Will is a lot better than Carl. Everyone agrees," Claire replied.

"Sorry, I just, I can't right now," Emma whispered, getting up and walking back to Carl.

A few hours later, Will was in his room getting ready for dinner. As Will closed his top clothing drawer, Carl walked in. "Hi Carl," Will mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey bro, I need to talk to you," Carl stated, staring at Will.

"What's up?" Will asked, sitting on his bed.

"Well, first off, are the most expensive clothes you own from Abercrombie?" Carl laughed, pointing at Will's hoodie.

Will rolled his eyes, trying not to let it get to him. "What do you really want?"

"I want you to back off of Emma. She's mine now. I know you may think that she still may like you but you're wrong. Emma has this way of making everyone feel good; even losers like you. So, just because she's nice to you doesn't mean that you have any chance with her. I mean, did you honestly think she loved you?" Carl sneered, enjoying the pain he was causing Will to feel. Will looked at the ground, trying to ignore Carl. "You're a high school hero but a real life zero, Will. Come on, you're a high school glee coach; it doesn't get much lower than that. Be happy that I'm a dentist and I can give her the life she deserves. Maybe your ex-wife still wants you, I don't know. But I do know that Emma doesn't. She loves me not you, so stop following her around like a lost puppy."

"That's not true," Will whispered, trying to shake Carl's words from his mind.

"You and I both know it is, pal. Emma will never love you," Carl said, loudly, almost shouting. Just as Carl finished his sentence, James barged in.

"Hey, what were you just saying?" James questioned, glancing at Will.

"Nothing, man," Carl replied, smirking.

"I think you should leave Will alone if you want to stay inside this house," James demanded. "You don't own my sister by the way; she can make her own decisions."

"Fine," Carl grumbled, leaving the room.

"You really love Emma, don't you?" James asked, once Carl left.

Will looked up, surprised. "Is it that obvious?" he laughed, feeling better.

"Yeah, it kind of is…but what's even more obvious is that she feels the same way," James said.

"Are you sure about that?" Will asked, sadly. "I'm pretty sure she likes Carl."

"She's trying to make herself like Carl, but she can't. You just got to hang in there, Will. She'll come around, trust me," James explained.

"I hope so," Will mumbled.

"I've known my sister for a long time and I've never seen her so comfortable with another guy than she is with you," James admitted. "You guys will be together by the time you leave here, trust me."

"Thank you," Will said, as they both walked out of his room.

"Hey, I was just stating the facts," James laughed.

Once they reached the den, James pulled Emma into the kitchen. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Emma asked, smiling. She was glad that Carl came, she actually missed him.

"Carl's a jerk."

"What do you mean?" Emma said, surprised that he was not having a good first impression with her family.

"I walked into Will's room to find Carl barking at the poor guy. He was saying crap like Will won't ever have you and other junk," James explained.

"Really?" Emma replied, her eyes widening.

"Yeah," James agreed, looking over his shoulder at Carl. Rose entered the room, smiling at both her kids and holding an envelope.

"Hi mom," Emma greeted, still processing the news about Carl.

"Hey honey, I found something for you," Rose explained, handing Emma the envelope.

"What is it?" Emma asked, seeing her name on the front of it.

"I found it under your pillow. I think a curly-haired tooth fairy left it for you last night," Rose smiled. Emma nodded, escaping upstairs to her room to read the letter. Emma slowly opened the envelope, revealing a piece of notebook paper covered in Will's slanted scrawl. Emma smiled and began reading.

_Dear Emma,_

_You just left my room. Yes, I was awake. I told you I loved you but you denied your feelings for me. I retreated back to my room and let a few tears slip down my cheeks before I heard you enter my room. I was ashamed of what I said to you so I pretended to be asleep. Then you felt my heartbeat; which no doubt sped up a lot as you placed your hand on it…my heart beats for you and only you. In that moment, I almost said something but instead you did. You said something that changed everything. You told me you loved me. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to do anything to ruin the moment so I continued my silence until you left. Then I sat down to write this letter. I know what I said to you was stupid probably but I had to say it. You see; there is no wrong time to tell someone that your heart belongs to them. I had been holding back because I was afraid I'd sound stupid and ridiculous and that you'd reject me. Now, I'm glad I did. Because if I hadn't then I never would've heard those three words escape your lips. I'd give anything to hear you tell me you love me every day, anything._ _I don't think you understand how much it hurts for me to love you when you're with Carl. I think that by saying you loved me, you were saying good bye. Because I know that tomorrow morning, nothing will have changed. You'll still be with Carl and I'll still be madly in love with you. I think you love me, but you're in love with Carl. It's two different things, Emma. I will always love you and I'll always be here waiting for you if you change your mind. Ask me why I keep on loving you when it's clear that you don't feel the same way for me…the problem is that as much as I can't force you to love me…I can't force myself to stop loving you. I can't explain it, Emma. I just love you so much. Explaining why I love you is like trying to explain what water tastes like; impossible. What's also impossible is for me to stop loving you. It hurts so much to see you being with Carl. Just know that whenever you're in Carl's arms; he's holding my entire world. You are my entire world, even if you're with someone else. Emma, you're all I think about, all the time. I love you and I can only hope that someday you'll return the feeling. But if you truly don't love me, then do something for me. Please stop. I'm not asking you to end our friendship, as that's the only thing I have right now. Stop the hugs though, and the kisses. They're great but they crush me. To see you give me strings of hope but then turn around and go back into Carl's arms. My heart breaks every time you do that. That's all I want Emma. All I want for Christmas is you, really. I love you._

_Love,_

_Will_

Emma smiled down at the letter, for her it was her first ever handwritten love letter and it was beautiful. Emma wiped away a few tears and held the letter to her heart, wanting to hold on to the words inside it forever.

Two hours later, Carl had gone to spend the night at the hotel and Emma hadn't said anything yet to Will about the letter. Will wandered around the house for the third time, searching for Emma. Rose saw him and smiled. "Hey, honey."

"Hi, do you know where Emma is?" Will asked, scratching his head.

"Oh, she left to say good night to Carl," Rose sighed.

"Now? But I thought he was at the hotel."

"He is, that's where she went," Rose explained. "Don't worry she'll be back soon."

_**So what did you think? Did you like it? Was the letter good? Personally, I'm pretty proud of the letter ;). Sydney3, your idea will be in the next chapter…sorry, it was getting pretty long. There's been a dip in reviews, so please review if you want me to continue. Once again, thanks to the people who gave me ideas for this chapter. Please review and I'll update soon. Feel free to leave an idea in a review! ;)**_


	9. Chapter 9- Mixed Feelings

Chapter 9- Mixed Feelings

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Oh my God…thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I got sixteen! I've never ever gotten that many; I love all of you so much right now! I've gotten a lot of suggestions for an epilogue for a future wemma…sure! I'll write it, no problem! Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Emma knocked on Carl's door, checking her watch for the time; it was ten at night. She heard footsteps behind the door and waited for Carl to appear. _What are you doing, Emma? What am I even going to say to him? Oh God, why did I come here again? _Emma thought, nervously. Carl opened the door, smiling at Emma. "Hey! I didn't know you were coming!" Carl greeted, engulfing her in a hug before she could even speak.

"I didn't know I was coming until I got here," Emma admitted, as they pulled away from each other. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Carl said, taking her hand and leading her into his hotel room. "So, what did you want? Couldn't get enough of me?" he joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Um, can we talk? For real?" Emma asked, her smile wavering. Carl looked at her with concern in his brown eyes.

"Wait…Schuester didn't try anything with you, did he?" Carl replied, placing a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder.

"No! No, that's not it, at all," Emma stammered, surprised that Carl even asked that.

"Okay. I just, I don't trust him, Emma. At all," Carl explained.

"I know," Emma whispered. "I know that you were yelling at him in his room today. James told me."

"What?" Carl asked, dumbfounded.

"Don't act like this is news to you, Carl," Emma demanded. It felt good to stand up for Will; like even if he would never hear this conversation, it would somehow make him feel better. __

"I-I'm sorry Emma. I really am. I can apologize to him too, if it makes you feel better. I might've gone a little over the top when I was talking to him," Carl admitted, with pleading eyes.

"I'm really embarrassed that you would even yell at him, Carl. Will is my best friend," Emma confessed.

"I know," Carl grumbled. Carl looked down for a second, thinking about what to do. "I love you," Carl said. It wasn't big; they both told each other that they loved each other all the time. Carl leaned in for a kiss but Emma moved away.

"Carl…" Emma sighed, pushing a lock of red hair away from her face.

"What's wrong, Em?" Carl asked, looking serious for the first time all day. _Only Will calls me Em, only Will, _Emma thought.

"This," Emma said, motioning to the two of them, "this is wrong."

"What? Does my breath smell bad?" Carl joked, flashing his white teeth.

"Stop! I'm serious, Carl. I-I don't think this is going to work out," Emma muttered, looking anywhere but Carl.

"Wait, really?" Carl asked, running a hand through his jet black hair.

"Yeah, really."

"Please, please, don't tell me it's Will," Carl whispered, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm so sorry," Emma mumbled. "Nothing happened between us though."

"Emma, do you love him?" Carl sighed.

"I think so," Emma whispered, her voice breaking on the last word.

"It's, it's, okay," Carl said, sensing Emma's fragileness. "I knew there was no way you'd still be mine once you came home from this trip," Carl admitted.

"What? What do you mean?" Emma asked, looking up.

"Well, I mean, I was putting you and Will in a house, together. For a week," Carl explained. "I knew that spending all this time with him was going to make you fall in love with him again, if you hadn't already. Plus, it was obvious to everyone that he was in love with you."

Emma sighed, feeling horrible. "I'm really sorry, Carl. I just can't anymore. I can't do this. I'm so, so confused right now. I don't know if I love Will, I don't know if I love you, all I do know is that two men love me," Emma admitted, feeling tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"Emma, if you're in love with two people at the same time; me and Will. Pick the second one; because if you really loved me, you wouldn't have fallen for Will in the first place. Your heart always belonged to Will, whether I wanted to admit it or not," Carl explained.

"I really liked dating you, Carl," Emma said, standing up.

"I really liked you too," Carl mumbled, sadly. "But, hey, I don't want to be the one to get in the way of a once in a lifetime love."

Emma smiled. "Good bye," she said, walking towards the door.

"Good luck with Schuester," Carl replied, opening the door for her and waving good bye.

Will woke up to his alarm clock, he'd set it for eight last night. He rolled over, turned it off, and sat up in bed. The Spanish teacher had been crushed when Emma left to go see Carl last night, and when he went to bed at eleven; she still hadn't returned. _I better get going before Emma comes back, if she even does come back, _he thought. Will crawled out from under his sheets and made his bed in record timing. He then rifled through his drawers, pulling out a red Nike long sleeve shirt and dark blue jeans. Will pulled on his jeans and listened for anybody who was awake. He couldn't hear anything so he assumed that everyone was still asleep. Will shrugged off his shirt and pulled on the Nike one. The Spanish teacher started emptying out his clothing drawers and dumping his clothes into his duffel bag. As he threw in his last shirt, his door creaked open. "Will?" Emma said, walking in.

Will turned around, caught. "Oh, hi."

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Um, nothing," Will mumbled, zipping up his duffel bag.

"Where are you going?" Emma questioned, walking up to him.

"I guess I could've asked you the same question last night," Will replied. He didn't want to come across as mean, but he really couldn't believe it.

"Huh?" Emma said, confused. Emma's eyes flicked over to his bag and then back to Will's hurt face. "Are you going home?"

"I was going to," Will whispered, turning around. It hurt too much to look at Emma.

"Why?" Emma asked. _What? He can't go! Is he mad at me? I-I what is he even talking about? _Emma wondered.

"Why should I stay?" Will repeated, still not facing her. Now Emma was silent and confused. "Why did you bring me here, Emma?" Will asked, softly.

"Because you're my best friend," Emma admitted, sweetly. She wasn't sure what was running through Will's mind right now but wanted to make sure she didn't do anything to hurt him.

"Do you like breaking my heart into a million little pieces, slowly putting it back together, and then shattering it again?" Will whispered, digging through his duffel bag to find a sweatshirt.

"I don't understand," Emma said, placing a soothing hand on Will's shoulder. "We can talk about this, whatever this is."

"I don't get it," Will sighed, finally facing her. "Why? Really, just why? Did you have to do it last night?"

Emma stared at Will's sad hazel puppy dog eyes, wondering what he was talking about. "Last night?" Emma repeated. When Will just shut his eyes trying to block it all out, it clicked in Emma's brain. "Oh, oh my God! You, you mean with Carl?"

Will nodded slowly, squeezing his eyes tighter. "Oh no, no. That's, it's not what you think, at all. Trust me, Will, nothing happened. Oh God, I'm so sorry that you thought that. I-I would never do that to you," Emma explained, offering him a small smile.

Will opened his eyes. "But you were gone all night."

"No, I wasn't. I got home at around eleven-thirty, and then I was down in the kitchen making myself a snack. I went to bed after you, you were asleep," Emma explained.

"Are you lying?" Will asked, hoping she wasn't.

"No, I would never lie to you," Emma replied, smiling. _Well, except that one time when I said I didn't feel anything with you…that may have been the biggest lie ever told, _Emma thought. "Oh Will, were you going to leave because of this?" Emma sighed.

Will nodded and Emma threw her arms around him. Will returned the hug almost as quick as it came. Emma knew that in his letter, he asked her to stop but she thought that this was an exception. Plus, she wasn't with Carl anymore, but she wasn't exactly with Will yet. The two stayed wrapped in each other's arms for what felt like forever. "I'm sorry," Will whispered, resting his head on top of Emma's.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Emma assured him, as the two pulled away and sat down on Will's bed.

"Yeah, I automatically assumed that you were with Carl," Will mumbled, sadly.

"I would've done the same thing, had I been in your shoes," Emma admitted, smiling. "Will?"

Will looked up, smiling. "Yeah?"

"How were you planning on getting home?" Emma laughed.

Will rubbed the back of his neck, bashfully. "I guess I hadn't really thought of that," he smiled.

"So, you're going to stay, right?" Emma said.

"Yeah."

"You know that today's the twenty-seventh? We're supposed to leave tomorrow," Emma explained.

Will groaned, playfully. "Already?"

"I was wondering if you would like to stay a few extra days," Emma offered.

"Sure!" Will exclaimed, a goofy lopsided smile on his face.

"We can head back on the thirtieth," Emma suggested.

"That's great," Will agreed, happily.

"Do you need any help unpacking?" Emma laughed.

Will grinned and shook his head. "Um, I can do it later. Want to go get breakfast?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed.

It was after lunch and the men were outside playing with the kids in the snow and the women were talking over hot chocolate. Emma watched Will outside the window and smiled. She still hadn't told him or anybody that she and Carl had broken up, nor had she told him about finding the letter. Emma didn't know what was holding her back but something was stopping her. She shouldn't be scared, after all Will wasn't. He had confessed that he loved her to her face and had written her the letter. Now that Emma knew that Will had been awake when she said she loved him, she didn't know what to think. "Guys playing with little kids is just about the cutest thing ever," Claire laughed, watching as Will was being pelted with snowballs from Xavier.

"Yeah," Emma agreed, watching Will. Rose smiled, noticing this.

"So, what happened with Carl last night?" Rose asked.

"What do you mean?" Emma replied, trying to hide the fact that she was lying.

"Oh, something definitely happened," Claire laughed.

"Yeah, something did," Emma mumbled.

"What happened?" Rose asked, watching Emma's face fall.

"I-I uh, broke up with him," Emma admitted, trying to regain her composure.

"I'm so sorry," Claire said, seriously.

"Uh, no don't be." Emma gave a hopeful smile. "It was for the best."

"Does Will know yet?" Rose asked, curiously.

"No," Emma stated, glancing out the window at Will.

"Why not?" Claire practically shouted.

"I honestly don't know," Emma muttered.

"Emma, you have to tell him. It hurts him every day that he knows you're with Carl, so now that you guys broke up; at least let him know. It's not fair to keep giving him false hope and stringing him along," Rose explained.

"I will let him know, just not today. I have to think about other things," Emma admitted. She was pretty sure she was in love with Will but she wasn't sure how to say it.

"Okay," Claire agreed, uneasily.

It was around eleven at night and Will and Emma were in Will's room hanging out. "So, how was Carl about leaving to go to Detroit?" Will asked, surprising Emma. They had been keeping the mood light and playful, so this was an unusual change. And Will never voluntarily talked about Carl.

"Um, he was good," Emma said, forcing a smile.

"Okay," Will replied, taking a sip of his Coke. "Want some?" Will offered, holding the can out to her.

Emma smiled sweetly at him and without realizing it, nodded before taking the can and drinking from it. As soon as the can left her lips she realized what she had done. "Oh, oh my God!" Emma exclaimed, handing the drink back to Will.

Will gave her a confused look. "What's wrong, Em?"

"Actually, nothing's wrong," Emma smiled. _I-I drank out of Will's drink…the germs…I didn't even notice. I wouldn't even eat from the same plate as Carl. This is huge! Maybe it was natural to me because, I don't know, Will comes natural to me, _Emma thought. "We shared a drink."

"Oh…your OCD! Oh gosh, Em, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize, I'm such an idiot," Will stammered, running a hand through his curls.

"Don't be, I'm really proud of myself actually," Emma laughed. Emma glanced at the clock. "I should probably go back."

"Oh yeah, um, good night," Will said. He really wanted to hug her, even if in his letter he said no hugs.

"Yeah, good night," Emma replied, walking to the door. Will stood up and walked her to the door. She smiled at him, about to go out the door when Will tapped her shoulder. Emma turned around to find Will with open arms, ready for a hug. Emma leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him melt under her embrace. She took in his sweet scent, it wasn't Axe or any horrible body sprays that Carl used. Will's smell was different…sweet and warm, like cinnamon rolls. After a few more seconds, they pulled away from each other. "See you tomorrow morning," Emma said, walking into her room. Will watched Emma walk into her room and wondered if his feelings for her would ever be mutual.

_**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? This chapter was really hard to write, really. Please tell me in a review what you thought. The packing and conversation following was suggested by the amazing Sydney3, if you guys aren't reading her stories, you should be! I'll update soon, reviews help me update faster and I know people are out there so please don't forget. I'm hoping to have this story done by Christmas Eve. R&R! ;)**_


	10. Chapter 10- Waiting for You

Chapter 10- Waiting for You

_**Author's Note- Hi everybody! I was going to try and write this yesterday but I didn't have time, sorry. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, you guys are so nice! After this chapter there will be one more and then an epilogue. Here's the chapter! ;)**_

Will wandered into Emma's room, it was eight-thirty and he just woke up. He smiled; Emma was still sleeping, meaning that she hadn't received a call from Carl yet. Will loved the fact that he could be the first voice Emma heard in the morning. He scratched his head, wondering if he should wake her up or let her sleep. Emma always woke him up so Will guessed it would be okay to do the same. "Emma…" Will whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Emma…it's me."

Emma rolled over, not opening her eyes yet. "Carl?" she mumbled. Will moved his hand off of her shoulder as though he just burned himself. Carl? He couldn't believe it, how had she mistaken him for Carl? Will turned around and started walking towards the door. _What was I thinking? Nothing's ever going to change for us. I told her I loved her, gave her a necklace, and wrote her a love letter. I've basically poured my heart out to Emma multiple times. But nothing's changing, nothing, _he thought, sadly. Emma sat up as Will turned the doorknob to leave. "Will!" Emma exclaimed.

He turned around. "Oh, hi."

"I-I, good morning," Emma stammered, smiling.

"Yeah, it's a real great morning," Will grimaced. Emma sensed the sadness in his voice as soon as he spoke.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked, immediately concerned.

Will shuffled his feet. "Nothing."

"Did Carl come back?" Emma questioned, hopping out of her bed, quickly.

"Uh, no. Were you expecting him? Because you called me Carl," Will admitted.

"Oh…oh! I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. I-uh, I, just thinking about Carl…or not really thinking about him, no. I just," Emma sighed, sadly.

"What? Is there something wrong with Carl? Is it me? Did I do something wrong?" Will panicked, rushing to Emma's side.

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong. You, you did everything right…that was the problem," Emma explained. Will tilted his head, confused. "Sorry, I'm confusing you, I know. That's what I've been doing all vacation, confusing you."

"No, I, uh, it's fine," Will assured her, still really confused.

"Carl and I…we broke up," Emma announced.

"When?" Will asked, astonished.

"Two nights ago, when I went to see him at the hotel, that's what I was doing…dumping him. I told him that, it, uh, wasn't going to work out. I-I think he wasn't mad, really. A little hurt, but not mad. He probably won't have any trouble finding another girlfriend, one that's not insane," Emma said, faking a laugh at the end. She looked up at Will and felt her brown eyes well up.

Will sat beside her and rubbed his hand soothingly on her back. "You're not insane, Emma, and Carl will never be able to find another you, that's for sure. I know I couldn't. Emma…you're perfect, beautiful, and everything a guy could ever want," Will confessed, hoping that could make her feel better.

"That's, that's not true, Will," Emma sniffed. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Yeah, it is true. Everything that I have ever said to you or…wrote is true to me. You're perfect Emma, and so, so beautiful," Will admitted. She still hadn't said anything about the letter so he was unsure if she had even found it. Emma looked at him, thoughtfully.

Instead of saying anything, Emma just rested her head onto Will's shoulder. Will wrapped his strong arms around her and rested his head on top of hers. In this moment, no words were needed; everything they wanted to say to each other had just been said in actions. After all, actions speak louder than words. After almost twenty minutes of just staying in each other's arms, Emma spoke. "Thank you, Will. Thanks for everything," she whispered.

"I'm just doing what I wanted to…being there for you. Remember? That's what I wanted for Christmas and I just got it," Will smiled. Emma smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you did, you must've been a good boy this year," Emma laughed.

"I guess," Will replied, a cute lopsided smile spreading across his face.

"You know what they say," Emma started. "The best things come to those that wait."

"I hope that's true." _Because I've been waiting for you, all this time. You would definitely be better than anything I'd ever gotten for Christmas…the ultimate gift, _Will thought. Emma's door swung open and on the other side was Xavier.

"Will, I need to talk to you," the young boy said. "It's an emergency." Xavier glanced at Will who was still holding Emma, and smiled. "It's a boy thing, maybe you want to go," Xavier suggested.

Emma laughed, getting up. "I'll let you two talk," she said, walking out.

"I have good news and bad news," Xavier stated, sitting on the bed next to Will.

Will smiled. "Let's hear the good news first," he suggested.

"Okay," Xavier smiled. "I heard the mommies and daddies talking and guess what? Emma broke up with the tooth doctor!" he exclaimed.

"So I heard. Emma just told me," Will laughed.

"You guys were hugging…is she with you, now?" Xavier asked.

"Um, no. But, maybe someday in the future, she just broke up with Carl, I don't want to force her in a relationship," Will explained.

"I know that Emma will love you soon. It's one of the things that was on Julie and I's Christmas list," Xavier said.

"Wait, what?" Will questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"When Julie and I were in the car on the way to deliver our letter to Santa, we were making the final changes on our letter. I said that we should wish for you and Emma to get back together and Julie thought that that was a great idea. Then, I found a red crayon under a seat and wrote it on the paper. Santa always gets everybody what they want so it's probably just a late delivery," Xavier smiled, proud of himself.

Will laughed. "You did that for me?"

"Yeah," Xavier said. "I thought it would help."

"Thanks, it means a lot," Will replied, astonished that they would do that for him. "Was there any bad news?"

"Oh yeah," Xavier frowned. "Uh, there is."

"Well, what is it?" Will asked, offering a hopeful smile. _I don't know if there is any bad news…Emma broke up with Carl. That's just about the best thing I could want out of this trip, _Will thought.

"I thought I could ask you because the same thing was going on with you, sort of," Xavier started. Will looked up, confused. "You see, there's this girl who I, uh, like-like but she likes someone else," he admitted.

"Really?" Will asked, smiling. "Who's this girl? And I'm pretty sure you're the coolest six-year-old I know, so she's making a mistake."

"Her name is Hazel and the guy she likes is Blake," Xavier said. "Hazel lives across the street from us and she's in my class. We both like Spiderman and share Goldfish at snack time but I heard that she liked Blake from my friend, Ethan. Then, this morning I saw her playing in the snow with Blake," Xavier sighed, crushed.

Will smiled. "I would say that the best thing you can do is wait. Just wait it out, that's what I'm doing. If this Hazel's really something special than she's worth it, trust me. I mean, come on, Goldfish and Spiderman? You're practically soul mates," Will laughed.

"Thanks Will, you're the best," Xavier exclaimed, giving the man a hug.

"Glad I could help," Will replied, as the two walked out of the room.

After lunch, Will and Emma were heading upstairs to find the new _Mario _game that Will claimed she had to play. "Will, it's a video game, how amazing can it be?" Emma laughed.

"Pretty amazing," Will replied, smiling. "Are you just afraid that Xavier and I are going to crush you and Julie?" he teased.

"No," Emma laughed. "Just what's so special about this game?"

"Besides World 2's awesome mushroom level? It's the game we played on our first date," Will recalled.

Emma smiled. "I remember now…we tried so hard to beat Bowser at the end. You tried to jump on him but missed because you hit your leg on the coffee table! And I fell on the floor laughing…that was really fun," Emma laughed.

"Yeah," Will agreed, as they reached the hallway. "Come on, Em, I think it's in the playroom," Will started, turning to his left.

Emma looked up and her eyes turned wide with realization. She reached out and grabbed the end of his sleeve. Will turned around, smiling. "What?" he asked.

Emma just looked up at the ceiling and Will's eyes followed. There was mistletoe hanging in the hall, one that hadn't been there yesterday. Someone must've put it up today. "Mistletoe," Emma whispered.

_**Aaaah! Cliffhanger! The next chapter will be the last of this 'story' but then there will be an epilogue for chapter 12. Sorry for the late update, I'm sick :P. So what did you think? Good or bad? Horrible or interesting? Sorry that this chapter was kind of shorter than the others, I didn't have a lot of time. Please, please review! I love hearing from you guys and I know that people are reading this. Hope you liked it! R&R and I'll update sooner. ;) **_


	11. Chapter 11- Merry Christmas, Will

Chapter 11- Merry Christmas, Will

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, you guys are so nice! Sorry that I got this out late…I was sick yesterday and wasn't allowed to leave my room, true story. This is the last chapter of the story but the next chapter will be an epilogue. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**_

Will rested his hazel eyes on the mistletoe above them. Emma still had a hold on his shirt sleeve, and he wasn't exactly sure what was running through her mind. Will didn't want to kiss her again and have it not count for anything, it hurt too much. "Let's, let's go get the game, Emma," Will mumbled, turning in the other direction.

Emma tugged on Will's sleeve again. "What's up with you? You know the rules," Emma laughed, pulling him closer.

"I-I don't want to," Will stammered, looking down at the ground. Emma dropped his hand, confused.

"What?" she asked, incredulous.

"I can't take it anymore, Em. I don't want to kiss you just for fun…I mean, I would love to but it hurts for us to kiss and then you act like its nothing. I'm sorry," Will confessed, despair in his voice.

Emma stared at Will for a second, before the realization hit her. In the letter, he had said something similar; to stop the hugs and kisses. She immediately felt guilty, really guilty. Emma looked deep into Will's hazel eyes and knew it. She knew that she was in love with Will Schuester. Will who was psyched to go on this trip. Will who fell asleep in the car. Will who was nervous to meet her parents. Will who her family adored. Will who like-liked her. Will who sang a song for her. Will who she kissed under the mistletoe. Will who told her that he loved her. Will who gave her a necklace. Will who wrote her a love letter. Will who almost went home because of Carl. Will who understood when she broke up with Carl. Will who she'd loved from the start. "I have to tell you something, Will, something I should've said a while ago," Emma said, bravely.

Will turned around, curiously and Emma took his hand in hers again. Before Will could protest, Emma smiled and started talking again. "I-I got your letter…you know the one you wrote for me. I found it on the day after Christmas when Carl came. That's why I broke up with him, because of the letter. Will, I have never read anything more beautiful or honest than that letter. I loved it," Emma started, as the twinkle in Will's eyes returned along with a lopsided smile.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really, and it made me notice a lot of things. Like how Carl was never the one for me, and you were always going to be there for me, no matter what. When I broke up with Carl, you didn't automatically push me into a relationship with you and that must've been really hard. It was then that I realized how much you must love me. A lot. You loved me so much that you put my happiness before your feelings for me." Emma sighed, gathering her courage.

"Emma, I," Will started.

"Shh!" Emma cut him off. "Will, I love you, I always have and I always will. And I'm so sorry that it took taking you all the way to freakin' Virginia for me to notice this."

Will's eyes grew wide and his mouth broke into his dopey smile. "I love you too, Emma," he said, walking closer to her. Will brushed a loose red hair from her face, and his hazel eyes bore into her brown ones. He caressed her cheek and leaned his head closer to hers. Emma's wide eyes darted to his lips and before he could move any closer, Emma reached her head up and pecked him on the lips. After she pulled away, Will stood there, shell-shocked. "I…" Will started, at a loss for words.

"Merry Christmas, Will, I hope you got what you wanted," Emma smirked.

"I-that's exactly what I wanted…to be with you," Will replied, smiling.

"I know, I can't exactly fit under the tree," Emma laughed.

"This is good, I mean, okay," Will stuttered.

"Everyone else is going to be happy," Emma admitted, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Will asked, curiously.

"They all knew that we would end up together and they wanted me to dump Carl for you," Emma explained.

"Really?" Will repeated.

"Yup, want to go downstairs?" Emma offered, taking his hand.

"Sure," Will agreed, bounding down the steps hand in hand with Emma. "How are we going to tell them?" Will asked, when they reached the bottom of the stair case.

"I'll do it," Emma said, pulling Will into the den.

When Claire and Rose saw their intertwined hands, they smiled. Xavier started whispering to Julie and Julie nodded. Rusty and James nodded, approvingly. "You guys have anything to say?" Claire laughed and James rolled his eyes.

"Um, well, Will and I we're dating now, yay," Emma said, smiling and raising their hands.

Will smiled, shyly and nodded. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled.

Claire clapped, loudly and stood up. "Okay…" she started and James tried to pull her down on the couch. "I called it, did I not, everyone? I told you all that Emma was going to get back together."

Julie clapped. "Go mommy!" the little girl squealed.

"That's right honey, mommy's a matchmaker," Claire announced.

"What Claire's trying to say is that we're all really happy for you guys," James explained, ignoring his wife.

"Especially me," Xavier added, winking at Will. "I like Will a lot," the boy explained.

"We all do," Rose concluded, walking over to the new couple. She gave Will a hug and then Emma, smiling proudly at both of them. "You made the right choice," she whispered to Emma.

After a few more minutes of everyone attacking Will and Emma with questions, especially Claire, the family settled into their usual conversations. Will left to go refill Emma and his drinks in the kitchen and Xavier followed him. As Will poured more apple juice in his cup, Xavier tugged on the bottom of his shirt. "Will, I'm happy for you," he said.

"Thanks, I'm pretty happy too," Will smiled.

"I hope that you and Emma get married because I really want you for an uncle," Xavier admitted.

"Someday that'll happen, I promise," Will said, patting the boy's head. "We just got to keep asking Santa," he laughed.

"It worked this time," Xavier agreed, smiling. Emma entered the kitchen, smiling at the two of them.

"What are you guys talking about?" Emma asked, walking up to Will.

"Christmas," Xavier sighed, walking out of the room before giving Will a thumbs-up.

Will laughed. "We wished for you for Christmas."

"Is that so?" Emma said, smiling.

"Yeah, all I wanted for Christmas was you," Will admitted.

"Well, now you have me for this Christmas and all the rest of the future Christmases." Emma leaned over and gave Will a lingering kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Will," Emma whispered.

"This is definitely the best present I've ever gotten," Will laughed, hugging his girlfriend.

_**Well, there it is. So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? I hope you all liked it. I would love if you guys would review and tell me what you thought of the ending. I had a lot of fun writing this story and got a lot of people reviewing it, so thanks. There will be an epilogue coming out in a few days for chapter 12, so don't leave just yet, guys. I hope you all enjoyed it and in the next chapter, I'll be thanking everyone who reviewed and stuff. Have a great Christmas everyone! R&R! ;)**_


	12. Chapter 12- Another Christmas

Chapter 12- Another Christmas with the Pillsburys

_**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the lovely reviews last chapter and I'm glad that you all liked the ending. So, a lot of people asked if I could do an epilogue with them in the future back at Emma's parents' house with her whole family there. Oh yeah, and they're spending Christmas there again. So, Christmas day, Pillsbury house, here's the story, enjoy! ;)**_

**2 Years Later…**

Will took Emma's hand as Julie and Xavier ripped through their presents. Will smiled and squeezed Emma's hand, thinking about all that had happened since the first time they came here. Will and Emma had dated for six months before had proposed on a beach to Emma. Six months later, they had gotten married with all of their family and friends present. Julie had been the flower girl and Xavier was the ring bearer. James and Will's brother, Alex were groomsmen and Claire was the maid of honor. So, the two had been happily married for a year.

"I got an Xbox 360!" Xavier screamed, raising a box in the air. As an eight-year-old boy this was huge. Julie squealed and ran over to admire it with him.

Will chuckled. "I have a present for you, Em."

"I have one for you too, but let's wait until all of this craziness calms down," Emma laughed, motioning to Xavier and Julie.

"Okay," Will agreed. Xavier and Julie finished unwrapping all of their presents pretty quickly and the room quieted down.

"Mom, I need to call Hazel right away," Xavier announced, standing up.

"Xavier it's," Claire looked at her watch, "eight in the morning. You can't call anyone now."

"But she's awake!" Xavier argued, moving towards the house phone.

"No, honey, you can talk later. Hazel isn't going to find a new best friend in two hours," Claire explained, holding the phone out of Xavier's reach.

"But…I need to tell her that we got an Xbox and I just need to," Xavier said, quietly.

"Claire, let him," James started, as the phone rang in Claire's hand.

Claire groaned. "It's probably just a sales call," she said, dropping the phone on the couch.

Julie eagerly scooped up the phone. "Hello?" she said. After a few seconds, Julie nodded and looked at Xavier. She held the phone to her chest. "It's Xavier's girlfriend!" she teased.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Xavier grumbled, glaring at his sister. Will smirked, remembering what he told Xavier two years ago. A few days after Will had given him advice, it happened. Xavier had crossed the street and knocked on Hazel's door. When Hazel answered the door, Xavier said three simple words; 'I like you.' Hazel had just smiled and said; 'I like you too.' Then Hazel had invited Xavier in to play and the two had been inseparable since. They did everything together but somehow the little crush Xavier had had on her had never been brought up again. Will personally thought that someday when the two were older, they would be together. "Can I have the phone?" Xavier asked, reaching for it.

"Fine," Julie laughed, giving him the phone. Xavier left the room, mumbling excitedly about the Xbox.

Will leaned over and pulled out a small box. "Merry Christmas, Emma," he said, handing it to her. Emma smiled, opening the box. She pulled out a silver necklace with a diamond pendant. Emma smiled, holding a hand to her heart.

"It's beautiful, Will," Emma replied, holding it up.

"I got it because diamonds are the birthstone for April, you know that's when it's going to happen," Will explained.

"That's so thoughtful of you," Emma smiled. "Will you help me put it on?" Emma asked. Will nodded and moved behind her, clutching the necklace. Will clasped the necklace around her neck and Emma gingerly touched it with her fingers. Emma turned to face him, smiling. "I feel kind of bad because my gift to you isn't as personal as this but I think you'll like it," Emma confessed, handing him a familiar shaped case.

"Oh my God," Will muttered, opening the ukulele case. Will pulled out a new ukulele and a dopey grin was plastered on his face. "It's a…wow…I…wow," Will stammered, admiring his favorite instrument. "I love it, Em, this is perfect. Thank you so much," Will exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. Will gave her a sweet kiss and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too, Will, so much," Emma whispered. "How are we going to tell everyone the news?"

"Um, how about over dinner?" Will suggested, rubbing Emma's stomach.

"That sounds good," Emma agreed. "Let's go put this away," Emma offered, grabbing Will's hand. Will smiled and followed her out of the room, carrying the ukulele. Will still got the fuzzy feeling whenever Emma held his hand and knew that years and years from now, that feeling would still be there. Will always wondered if the feeling was mutual but Emma knew it was.

Will entered Emma's room, which they now shared each time they came together. Will gingerly placed the ukulele on top of his duffel bag, as if it were made of glass. Emma spun around and flopped down on their bed. "Do you remember the first time we came here?" she asked.

"Yeah." Will smiled, thinking of all the good memories they had shared in this very house.

"How I was with Carl and you were all bashful with me?" Emma added.

Will visibly flinched at the word 'Carl'. "Um, yeah…do we have to talk about this? I mean, it is Christmas after all."

"Calm down, it's okay," Emma assured him, sensing his sensitivity regarding the subject. "I was just remembering how amazing that trip was."

Will nodded. "Yeah, it was really fun." _Except for when Carl showed up, _he thought.

"That trip was the first time in my whole life that I was sure of something," Emma admitted.

"What were you sure of?" Will asked, tilting his head.

"I was sure that I was in love with you," Emma whispered, gazing at Will, lovingly.

"The whole trip you were sure of this?" Will asked, walking over and sitting down next to her.

"Actually…no. I wasn't sure of anything until you told me you loved me that one night. It was then that I knew, I knew that I loved you. Sure, there were other things that added up to it; like our kiss and the song but that really topped it off," Emma explained, smiling.

"I remember that." A flicker of pain shot across Will's face for a brief moment as he remembered the pain of the rejection. "I remember when you came in my room later and said you loved me…I was really confused," he laughed.

"I know and I'm sorry," Emma said, cupping Will's face in her hands. She leaned over and kissed him softly. "I love you, Will."

"I love you too, Emma. Merry Christmas," Will replied.

"Merry Christmas, Will," Emma whispered, automatically thinking of the first time she said that. "You know what?" she said, pulling him off the bed.

"What?" Will repeated, a cute lopsided smile on his face.

"I think we should tell them right now, there's no use in waiting if it's good news," Emma exclaimed, squeezing Will's hand.

"Okay," Will agreed, as they walked hand in hand down the stairs. The two walked in the den where everyone was hanging out. Xavier and Julie were playing _Just Dance 4_ on the Xbox 360, and the adults were talking with the exception of Claire; who was yelling encouragement to Julie. Will and Emma sat on the sofa and Will started watching the screen.

Xavier turned around after they finished the song. "Will, do you want to play?" he asked, with wide blue eyes.

Will stood up to play but Emma pulled on his the bottom of his shirt and Will slipped and fell back on the sofa. "Hey, I was going to," Will started, confused.

"Before anyone starts up the game again, Will and I would like to say something," Emma announced, poking Will in the side of his leg.

"Yeah, um." Will glanced at Emma to see if he should continue or if she wanted to take over.

"I'm pregnant!" Emma laughed. Will nodded, smiling. Everyone paused for a second, letting the words sink in.

"A baby!" Julie squealed, clapping.

"We're so happy for you guys," Rose smiled, as Rusty nodded approvingly.

"I know that you two are going to be great parents," Claire said, smiling.

James smiled. "How far along are you?"

"Sixteen weeks," Emma replied, resting her hand on Will's knee.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Xavier asked, curiously.

"It's a boy," Will said, earning more smiles and claps.

"Do you have any names in mind yet?" Rusty questioned.

"We have a few, um, Cole, Matthew, and Jake are the top three," Will explained.

"This is going to be awesome!" Xavier exclaimed.

After a few minutes, everyone calmed down and went back to the game and pleasant conversation. "You know what?" Will said, wrapping his arm around Emma.

"What?" she replied, smiling at her husband.

"I love spending Christmas with the Pillsburys," Will whispered, kissing the top of Emma's head.

_**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? I hope everyone has enjoyed this story and it's been so fun writing it. I was really surprised at the amount of attention this story gathered and I'm really grateful for everyone who has reviewed. Especially the people who reviewed all or almost all chapters; ma1teo, r0ckgal, WrittenInCrayon, Moonbike, Sydney3, MrsWemmaMorrison, Me (Guest), Elle Mills (Guest), MrsEleanorLovett, , ILoveWemma, Lieflotje, Wemmaaddicted, wemmagleek719, wemmafanfrompgh, and SarahMary101. The one song I used in the story was 'I Would' by One Direction. I want to thank ILoveWemma, Sydney3, and MrsWemmaMorrison for their ideas and help. Also, I've had a few one-shots come out in the past few days if anyone wants to take a look at those. Once again, thanks everyone and I hope you all liked this story. I really enjoyed writing this story. Please leave a review telling me what you thought of this whole story! ;)**_


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